It is perhaps surprising how quickly coronary angioplasty has become just another everyday procedure. As someone who has seen open-heart surgery live and witnessed the trauma and hospital resource intensity of such procedures, the placing of a stent as an alternative is almost unimaginably better for both patient and the health sytem as a whole.
Former President Clinton's procedure this week has resulted in no more than a minor interruption to his life and that of his wife, the American Secretary of State.
Even more remarkable is the way that the whole procedure is described in the press. Thirty years ago, what went on in hospitals to sick people was largely a mystery that the general public would know nothing about. Now, knowledge is much more freely available and is part of a much more consumer driven health culture which will only expand in the future.
John Wilkinson
Chief Executive Eucomed