News Desk, News Nation 360: Fortis Anandapur, achieved another clinical milestone by successfully treating a 74-year-old man with a 100% (occluded) blocked coronary artery via the innovative Ping Pong Catheter and Rendezvous Technique. The procedure was performed by a team of senior cardiologists under Dr Shuvanan Ray, Director of Cardiology, Fortis Anandpur. The patient was admitted to Fortis Hospital Anandapur with severe respiratory distress after which he was diagnosed with acute worsening of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease, hypertension and heart failure with preserved systolic function. The heart receives blood supply from 3 primary arteries known as coronary arteries. In this case, the patient had an abnormal heart structure as he had only two coronary arteries, and in normal adults, three arteries are present. Diagnosis Reports suggested 100% blockage in, two/one of the arteries which required immediate medical intervention. Unfortunately, bypass surgery was not an option due to the patient's damaged lungs. This is where the doctors adopted the novel Ping Pong procedure. According to Dr Shuvanan Ray, Director, of Cardiology, at Fortis Hospital Anandpur, initially, the patient was admitted to the pulmonology department under Dr Sushmita Roy Chaudhury with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), type 1 respiratory failure, hypertension, recurrent heart failure and coronary artery disease. The patient was admitted to another city-based hospital 2 years ago where he was diagnosed as having 100% occlusion of one of the two arteries for which he underwent angioplasty, which wasn’t successful. To avoid complications during the procedure, they had to insert two catheters at the same time, a catheter for an antegrade approach (in the direction of blood flow) and another for a retrograde approach (in the opposite direction of blood flow). The two catheters were used sequentially keeping one engaged and another out – known as the ping pong procedure. As the two catheters were meeting at some point hence named as rendezvous technique. After this, they succeeded in placing the stents and removing the blockage. This is called the Ping-Pong method of surgery and is the first in Eastern India. Subsequently, the patient remained free of complications and was discharged within a week. The patient is doing well and can perform his regular activities.