Anantnag: The Cardiology section of the Department of General Medicine at Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag, under the leadership of Principal Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Najeeb, has successfully performed its 50th pacemaker implantation.
This milestone was achieved at MMABM Hospital Janglatmandi, an associated hospital of GMC Anantnag.
The dedicated team of cardiologists at GMC Anantnag, including Dr. Shameem Iqbal and Dr. Showkat Shah, has been performing pacemaker implantations regularly over the past several months under the guidance of Dr. Mueen Ahmad Lone, Head of the Department of General Medicine. These procedures have been carried out in the Orthopedics theatre under C-arm guidance, ensuring precision and safety for patients.
It is worth noting that since the appointment of the new Principal, Prof. Dr. Rukhsana Najeeb, who is also a Professor of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care and has led the Department of Anaesthesiology at GMC Srinagar for 12 years, tertiary care operative procedures are now routinely performed at GMC Anantnag. These procedures include Whipple surgery, low anterior resection, and laryngectomy, among others.
Additionally, the construction of a Cath Lab at GMC Anantnag is underway. Once completed, this facility will further enhance the hospital’s capabilities in providing advanced cardiac care to patients, reducing the need for referrals to other centers for such critical procedures.
These life-saving procedures were conducted under the Ayushman Bharat (Golden Card) facility, making them accessible to patients free of cost. According to the doctors, in the private sector, such procedures can cost up to 4 to 5 lakh rupees. However, at GMC Anantnag, these 50 dual-chamber pacemaker implantation procedures were done free of cost under the Ayushman Bharat facility.