The hospital management says it is a state-of-the-art lab for the treatment of heart disease, the first of its kind in Pakistan to be set up in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and equipped with “diverse purpose” technology.

 Pakistan’s first hybrid cath lab has been inaugurated in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

 The lab was inaugurated on April 28 by Chief Minister Mehmood Khan and Health Minister Timur Saleem Jhagra at the newly established modern hospital Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC).

The hospital management says that this is a state-of-the-art lab for the treatment of heart diseases which has been set up for the first time in Pakistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is equipped with ‘diverse purpose’ technology.

 Dr Prof. Shahkar, Managing Director of the hospital, told Independent Urdu that the Hybrid Keith Lab could be used as both a laboratory and an operating theatre. Whenever there is a complication in angiography, which may lead to death, the doctor immediately starts treating the patient here.

 Dr Shahkar says that there are some patients whose treatment consisted of two parts. Half of the patients had to be treated one day and the rest the next. However, cardiology and stents can now be performed on the same day in this laboratory.

“When it was not a laboratory, angiography complications were a waste of time moving a patient to the operating room, which endangered the patient’s life,” the MDPIC said.

“Most of the patients die because of this. The patient does not have to be transferred due to the availability of these facilities in the hybrid lab.”

According to Dr Rafi, “In this state-of-the-art laboratory, robotic systems, 3D imaging systems, LED surgical lights, state-of-the-art surgical instruments make it easy to diagnose and catheterize without opening the chest.” He further said that PIC has the honour of opening not only the first hybrid catheterization laboratory in the country but also the world-renowned high quality ‘stents’ are being performed in this hospital.