29
Sep 2020
Super-fast surgery could soon be offered to one million British patients suffering with ‘racing heart’ condition which puts them at high risk of a stroke
The new, highly accurate procedure is being used to treat atrial fibrillation, in which heart nerves misfire and lead to a rapid and irregular pulse. The problem with the rhythm can resulting in blood pooling and clotting inside the heart, and if that clot travels to the head, it can cut off blood supply to the brain, resulting in a stroke.
The treatment, known as ablation, involves the burning of millimetre-wide areas of the heart using high-powered radio-frequency energy emitted through a small probe and threaded through an artery in the leg, normalising rogue electrical activity which causes the abnormal rhythms.
Although conventional ablation has been used for 20 years to treat these disturbances, until now this has been a difficult procedure. The new version, carried out in the UK for the first time last month, only takes an hour. Each blast of heat creates a burn in only four seconds, compared with 30 or 40 seconds previously.
The first surgeon in Britain to use the technology, Professor Andre Ng, consultant cardiologist at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, said “Ablation is tricky, as an effective burn means keeping the probe on the same spot for 30 to 40 seconds at a time. It is like cleaning the top edges of a chimney using a long stick during an earthquake.
“The new technology greatly reduces the time needed for each ablation (burn), which not only speeds up the entire operation but also makes it more accurate.”
Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist team of clinical negligence lawyers have years of experience in medical negligence claims, providing support and guidance after life-changing events. Not only do we represent clients in Yorkshire, but because of our reputation we also represent clients nationally.
If you believe that you or a relative may have been injured as a result of clinical/medical negligence, please call for free legal advice from our medical negligence solicitors on the freephone number below.
Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
Freephone : 0800 304 738
- Like this ? Share with friends