June began with a heavy load of surgeries for Yugh. One morning, as he was reporting for duty, a young woman arrived with her family for treatment. She clutched the center-left of her chest, describing a crushing pain. Her husband and mother hovered anxiously nearby, the mother holding a small child. Further examination confirmed it was a case requiring an angioplasty. While not as high-risk as open-heart surgery, it demanded urgent, precise intervention. Yugh swiftly prepared. At just 38, she was far too young for such a condition, but he learned her father had died of heart disease, a telling family history. 🌋
The cath lab was different from an OR quieter, lit by the soft hum of monitors and the flicker of an X-ray screen, filled with a team's calm confidence.
She wasn't fully unconscious. Under sedation, her eyes were half-lidded, but she was softly aware of her surroundings. The pain in her chest remained, a persistent reminder with every breath. 🌬
"Stay still. You're doing great," Yugh said, his voice muffled but steady behind his mask.
A small incision was made in her groin artery, and a catheter was slowly threaded inward. On the X-ray screen, the team watched a thin, wire-like shadow travel toward her heart. This wasn't open surgery, but the stakes were just as high if an artery was compromised.
"Here's the blockage," a nurse said, pointing to the screen. Yugh nodded. đź“Ś
As the balloon catheter reached the blockage, the woman felt a strange pressure build inside her chest. Not sharp pain, but a profound, protesting tightness from her heart.
"Inflating," Yugh announced calmly. The balloon expanded. The narrowed artery began, slowly, to open.
A few seconds later—"Deflating." 🔉