[Photo: Supplied]

Local interventional cardiologists Dr Shahin Nusair and Dr Bharat Bali recently had the opportunity to better their skills in percutaneous coronary intervention with experienced visiting South African cardiologist, Dr Joe Boudenstein.

Percutaneous coronary intervention is a non-surgical procedure to treat narrowing or blockages of the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart muscle.

Dr Boudenstein provided practical training for cardiologists at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital, focusing on complex cardiac cases.

Impressed by the high standard of work and knowledge of the local cardiac doctors, Dr Boudenstein mentioned that they could handle complex cases but could benefit from coaching on better approaches.

Sharing his first-time experience in Fiji, Dr. Boudenstein praised the expertise of cardiac doctors in Fiji and the Pacific, emphasizing their commendable ability to work effectively with limited resources.

[Photo: Supplied]

Dr. Sukafa Matanaicake, a Consultant Physician at CWM Hospital, says Dr Boudenstein’s training and guidance reassured the local doctors in handling complex cardiac cases.

She highlights the importance of learning from doctors in densely populated and developed countries, as they have extensive experience dealing with complex cases due to the large volume of patients they see.

In CWM Hospital, there are many patients with severe cardiac disease, contributing to more complex cases, some of whom are difficult to manage.

She attributed this phenomenon to factors such as delays in presentation, inability to access or provide optimal treatment and intervention at the appropriate time, and lifestyle.

Dr. Matanaicake stressed the importance of lifestyle modification in preventing diseases.
While acknowledging that treatment and intervention can help people live longer, Dr. Matanaicake urged Fijians to review and implement preventive measures to avoid these diseases altogether.

The team treated 15 complex cardiac cases in the week with the assistance of Dr Boudenstein.

Meanwhile, Dr Boudenstein’s travel to Fiji was funded by multinational companies that are partners with the Ministry of Health.