This time 19 years ago a revolutionary new hip operation was performed at the Mediclinic Sandton in Joburg.
In 1998 Dr Frans Weber, a leading Sandton orthopaedic surgeon invited Prof Ravil Gatiatouline from Russia, to teach his revolutionary technique to orthopaedic surgeons operating at the clinic. Gatiatouline, in turn, learned about the advanced techniques used locally.
The procedure was new to the west at the time but had already been used in Russia and China since the 60’s. The technique involved a device being implanted into the hip joint which allows the cartilage to regenerate. The device would remain in the hip for two years and upon removal, the hip would then function unsupported on its own.
Fast forward to the present day and Mediclinic is still making major strides in innovative medical procedures. Mediclinic Morningside launched their state-of-the-art catheterisation laboratory – the cath lab – on 4 May. The laboratory is an examination room located in the hospital with diagnostic imaging equipment used to visualise the arteries and chambers of the heart.
During cardiac catheterisation, a long thin tube called a catheter is inserted in an artery or vein in the groin, neck or arm and is threaded through the blood vessel to the heart. This medical advancement can be used to perform a number of procedures including angioplasty, angiography, catheter ablation and also when pacemakers are inserted.
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Doctor Gavin Angel from Morningside Mediclinic said, “The new cath lab has excellent image quality and complete ease-of-use, with extra modalities that are needed to give the best quality interventional cardiology service to our patients. It will enhance patient care and patient outcomes as well as patient satisfaction in the cardiology department at Morningside Mediclinic.”
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