Rs 7-crore cath lab at Sassoon to start by month-end

Work to renovate the cath lab section started in June and a tender was floated for the new machine.

The cath lab set up at a cost of Rs 7 crore has been renovated. According to Chandanwale, the lab is a specialized service for diagnostic and interventional procedures in cardiology and useful in treatment of coronary artery and peripheral vascular (pertaining to blood) disease. The lab will include procedure rooms and a six-bed cardiac ICU apart from rooms for professors and lecturers of cardiology, Chandanwale said. An intra-vascular ultrasound that can see inside blood vessels and other subsidiary equipment have been introduced.

Procedures like angiography, angioplasty, coronary stenting and others were on put hold during the renovation and patients had been referred to other hospitals at Nagar Road, Chinchwad and Baramati. These being mainly diagnostic and not therapeutic procedures, cardiac surgeries continued to be regularly conducted, doctors added.

When Inlaks and Budhrani hospital announced free diagnostic procedure including angiography, Sassoon general hospital sent 200 patients to the camp.

Doctors at Sassoon said the diagnostic procedures will cost a minimum of Rs 3000.