Child PGI will set up cath lab within 6 mths

Noida: The Child PGI will soon set up the city’s first cath lab (catheterisation laboratory) in a govt facility, with a budget of nearly Rs 9 crore allocated for the project, according to officials. The lab — expected to start in 5-6 months— will be equipped with special X-ray and imaging machines for cardiac surgery in children under 18 years.
According to officials, the hospital has been sanctioned a budget of Rs 9 crore for setting up this state-of-the-art facility.The budget allocations from the health ministry and tender process have also been completed.
The cath lab will be used for children below 18 years of age who require cardiac surgery, said Dr Mukesh Kumawat, head of pediatric surgery.
It will be equipped with special X-ray and imaging machines that will enable doctors to perform minimally invasive procedures for diagnosing and treating heart conditions.
“On average, the machine will have a capacity of 5-6 cases per day. It has been exported from abroad,” said Kumawat.
In a cath lab, doctors insert a thin, flexible tube called a catheter into a blood vessel in the patient's arm, groin, or neck and guide it to the heart using X-ray imaging. Once the catheter reaches the heart, doctors can perform various diagnostic tests and treatments, such as angiography, angioplasty, and stenting.
“We are trying our best to start the lab within 5-6 months. It will be the only govt cath lab in Gautam Budh Nagar, and Ghaziabad,” said Dr AK Singh, director of child PGI, Noida.