Melomed Heart Awareness Month

Melomed Hospital, in its ongoing quest to provide Zululanders with world-class healthcare, has open another door for its patients, this time in its catheterisation laboratory, or commonly referred to as the ‘cath lab’.
Recently a cardiac specialist based in Johannesburg, Doctor Pieter van Wyk, collaborated with Melomed Richards Bay to perform intricate heart procedures on local patients and at the same time train the hospital’s resident cardiologist so that the procedure can be done locally.
Doctor Pieter van Wyk, with local cardiologist Doctor Sizwe Mthiyane and the Melomed cath lab team in support, performed complex heart procedures on several patients suffering from coronary artery disease.
These procedures are done minimally invasive, through small tubes referred to as catheters, which are inserted from the arteries in the wrist or at the top of the leg and are then advanced to the heart.
Coronary artery disease can render arteries extremely narrow, and this then leads to reduced blood flow to the heart’s muscle. In severe cased the arteries can be totally occluded. In patients where the arteries are narrowed, but not totally occluded, it is relatively easy to open the artery and restore blood flow by placing a stent (a metal scaffold or commonly referred to as a ‘spring in the artery’).
However, when the artery is totally blocked, it requires different and intricate techniques to be able to open the artery again and place a stent.
The alternative to performing these complex procedures is coronary artery bypass surgery, however this is much more invasive with a long recovery period.
Another subset of coronary artery disease that makes it difficult to place a stent is when the artery is heavily calcified (scar tissue in the artery that becomes almost as hard as bone).
In these cases, it is often needed to drill through the hardened part of the artery (referred to as ‘rotablation’). In some cases, the calcified narrowing in the arteries can be treated by a new technology referred to as lithotripsy or ‘shockwave’.
Lithotripsy involves placing a special balloon in the artery that can create sonic shocks waves. This fractures the calcium and modify the narrowing in such a manner that a stent can be placed successfully.
Treating totally blocked arteries (referred to as CTO) and heavily calcified arteries is Dr Pieter van Wyk’s speciality.
This is postgraduate work and requires extensive dexterity and experience.

Dr Pieter van Wyk is training the Melomed cath lab team to handle these complex cases. Allowing them to gain experience at the same time is good news for Zululanders suffering from severe coronary artery disease. In future these patients won’t have to travel to Gauteng or other areas to get help; instead they can get the specialised procedure they need right here at Melomed in Richards Bay.
During Dr Pieter van Wyk’s visit to Melomed all the procedures he, Dr Mthiyane and the cath lab team performed, went down well with all patients discharged within a few days.
Some have already had their six-week follow up examinations and they are all happy with their symptoms and heart functions having improved.
This is another example of Melomed Richards Bay’s dedication to provide Zululand’s people with the best possible health care.

AS the saying goes: ‘time flies when you are having fun’.
This is true for the proud cardiac team at Melomed Richards Bay which is celebrating two years and hundreds of successful complex cardiac surgeries.
This marks years of perseverance, planning and late nights offering the patients of northern KZN comprehensive cardiac surgical service.
This ensured convenience for patients and their families through reduced waiting times and immediate 24-hour care.
Routine cases, such as coronary artery bypass surgery, can be done on a pump or beating heart, and we always try to use arterial grafts to improve long-term patency.
We also do valve replacements on leaking or stenotic valves, as well as complex vascular surgery, replacing the ascending aorta and any trauma-related injuries.
From a thoracic perspective, all our surgeries are minimally invasive, which allows shorter hospital stays and quicker post-operative recovery.
We are always improving and incorporating newer techniques and equipment. We have just received our ECMO machine – the first for northern KZN.
This is effectively a mini-bypass machine that takes over the heart and lung function until definitive surgery can be undertaken, or allows a patient to recover from an acute illness.
We look forward to saving more lives and offering the very best cardiac surgical service to our patients!