Immediate ambulation, less bleeding, and being patient-friendly is what makes the use of radial approach for angiography far more superior than the conventional techniques. An opinion voiced out by eminent cardiac physician and dean of Bombay Hospital, Dr B K Goyal while speaking on 'Angiography and Angioplasty made easy', at the S P Jain Auditorium here the past weekend.

While urging the medicos to make the use of radial approach more regular in their practice, Dr Goyal conceded that the radial approach was technically more challenging and needed greater expertise. But there were no other shortcomings associated with the procedure, he added.

“From the time it was first introduced in 1992, it has been picked up immensely by the western countries but is rarely practiced in India. In Japan itself, about 80 per cent of the patients are treated through the radial approach,” said Dr Goyal.

Further with the introduction of newer techniques like, direct stenting without balloon predilation, artherectomy, cutting balloon, new drug eluting stents and brachytherapy have made the radial approach more viable for use by the practitioners, stated Dr Goyal.

According to him, though the use of femoral route is still being practiced, limitations like bleeding complications, femoral nerve damage, urinary bladder discomfort and lot of back pain makes the procedure a little more doubtful than the radial approach.

“Our ultimate goal should be to gradually do away with the conventional angiography, angioplasty and by-pass surgery and adopt only patient-friendly procedures like the radial approach”, said Dr. Goyal.

Though the conventional approach for both angiography and angioplasty has been through the femoral route.