RIC begins treatment of patients with congenital heart diseases

ISLAMABAD: Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC) has started treatment of pediatric patients with complex congenital heart diseases (including holes in heart) on massive scale due to recent reporting of such cases in higher number.
The Executive Director of the RIC and Professor of Cardiology Dr Major General Azhar Mahmood Kayani told the media here Saturday that the rate of success in the treatment is very encouraging. The state of art institute run by the Punjab government is providing the treatment to the
needy patient free of cost, he said.
Earlier a three day pediatric interventional cardiology workshop was held in the
RIC where renowned pediatric interventional cardiologist Dr Abdul Karim Duke visited the institute and conducted
the workshop who flew here from London for the workshop.
Dr Duke is a graduate of Cambridge University UK and had 25 years’ experience in pediatric interventional cardiology having worked in distinguished institutes in London, Leicester, Kuala Lampur and Jeddah.
During the workshop twenty pediatric patients with complex congenital heart diseases (holes in heart) were treated percutaneously with various devices thus avoiding surgery.
The diseases mostly treated included closure of atrial
septal defect, patent ductus arteriosis, MAPCAS and
pulmonary stenosis. The trainees were imparted hands on training during the workshop.
With these pediatric procedures, Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology has become one of few cardiac institutes where interventional pediatric procedures are being done.