First-ever robotic angioplasty in Bangladesh proves successful

Bangladesh has taken a significant step forward in the field of treating heart disease with the successful implementation of "robotic angioplasty".

For the first time in the country, two patients underwent stent implantation using a robot at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) on Sunday. Both patients have since recovered well and were discharged from the hospital yesterday.

Azam Ali, 65, from Mirpur upazila of Kushtia, had battled heart disease for nearly two decades. After suffering a heart attack two months ago, he sought treatment at Kushtia General Hospital and Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, but his condition remained critical. Finally, he was transferred to NICVD.

On Sunday, a robotic arm guided by a team of expert doctors, successfully implanted a stent in Azam Ali's heart. He has since made a remarkable recovery and was discharged from the hospital yesterday afternoon.

"My father is doing very well now. The robotic stent placement is an advanced system, and after the procedure, he was kept under observation for three days. He no longer experiences the problems he had before and has completely recovered," Azam Ali's son, Monirul Islam, told The Business Standard.

"We've been prescribed medication, but no follow-up is necessary. However, the doctors have provided their contact information in case of any concerns," he added.

The other patient who benefited from this groundbreaking procedure was Morshed Alam, 50, from Chandpur. Diagnosed with heart disease while working in Saudi Arabia, Morshed Alam opted to return to Bangladesh for treatment, seeking the advanced care offered by NICVD.

After undergoing a successful robotic angioplasty, he plans to return to Saudi Arabia after a two-and-a-half-month recovery period.

Both Morshed Alam and Azam Ali had three blockages in their hearts and received free robotic angioplasty and stents at NICVD, according to the hospital sources.

Dr Pradip Kumar Karmakar, associate professor of Cardiology, NICVD, led the team that performed the first procedures. He was assisted by Pinaki Ranjan Das, Arifur Rahman, Sayedur Rahman, Farhana Ahmed, Md Hosni Amin, Badal Chandra Barman, Nazmul Haque Bhuiyan, Abu Saleh, and Nusrat Rahman.

"Robotic angioplasty is currently the most advanced and latest technology for placing cardiac stents. The Robocath R-One system utilises a robotic arm in the catheter lab, controlled by doctors from a separate machine," Dr Pradip told TBS.

"While previously, the procedure was performed directly by doctors using their hands and eyes, robotic assistance enhances precision and reduces surgery time. The procedures for these two patients took only 30-40 minutes, whereas traditional methods would have required over an hour," he added.

Dr Pradip said, "Adjusting the cardiac stent by one millimetre for the ideal position can be tricky manually, but a robot can achieve this with precision."

The one-month trial period, facilitated by the French company that provided the Robocath R-One system free of charge, aims to assess its compatibility with Bangladesh's existing infrastructure. If successful, NICVD plans to request the government to purchase the machine, potentially making robotic angioplasty a permanent treatment option in the country.

"If the robotic method proves compatible with our infrastructure, we will urge the government to acquire the machine," said Dr Pradip. "This would enable the permanent implementation of robotic stent placement in Bangladesh. Patients would only incur an additional cost of around Tk20,000 for the surgery, on top of the stent cost."

"Implementing this heart stent placement method in Bangladesh would mean patients from remote areas no longer need to travel to Dhaka. With district-level catheter labs, experts from Dhaka can perform angioplasty using robots, providing specialised care to patients in remote areas without the need to travel to Dhaka," he added.