Can PTCA be done on an outpatient basis?
Yes, this procedure is being done in some centers in the United States as an outpatient procedure, where it is done in the morning, and the patient is discharged the same evening. Some cases are kept overnight for observation. The decision is based on the patient’s condition, the nature of the blockages, the response to the angioplasty and the presence or absence of any complication. Is the patient put to sleep for the angioplasty? No, it will be more risky to give general anesthesia for this procedure. Nobody does that. The accepted standard of practice for this procedure all over the world uses moderate sedation for the patients, keeping them comfortable and less anxious, plus local anesthetic injection to numb the area in the groin where the sheathed needle is to be inserted. This is the safe technique which has been proven in hundreds of thousands of cases and well accepted by patients around the globe. What are the possible complications? More common possible complications of coro
