| Local News |
august-september, 2020 | The Health
07
IJN scores a first with Micra
AV pacemaker implant
The National Heart Institute, of
Institut Jantung Negara (IJN), has
created yet another milestone in the
global healthcare industry when it
became the first hospital outside of
the United States to implant Micra AV
pacemaker, for the treatment of a slow
heart rate via pacing.
IJN Chief Executive Officer Datuk
Dr Aizai Azan Abdul Rahim said Micra
AV is the world’s smallest pacemaker
with atrioventricular (AV) synchrony
that is used to treat patients who suffer
from AV block, which is a form of heart
rhythm blockage, where the electrical
signals between the chambers of the
heart have been impaired.
According to a Bernama report,
Dr Aizai Azan said that previously,
some of the heart patients could
not receive pacemakers due to the
surgery required to implant traditional
pacemakers and the risk of developing
long-term complications with the
device.
“As it is a leadless pacemaker, the
Micra AV greatly reduces the risk of
patients experiencing complications
such as displacement, he said during a
press conference recently.
“Additionally, the Micra AV is about
the size of a vitamin supplement
capsule, making it one of the smallest
pacemakers in the world.
“So, doctors can implant this
pacemaker through a minimallyinvasive
procedure, therefore,
eliminating the need for extensive
surgery,” he said.
Dr Aizai Azan also said IJN had
been deeply involved with the device
development, as well as the pre-clinical
studies since 2018.
IJN senior consultant cardiologist
and a member of the cardiac
electrophysiology team, Dr Azlan
Hussin said, the device came at the
right time when the IJN medical team
was brainstorming on minimising
exposure to Covid-19.
As of July 9, six patients had
undergone the treatment, with the
first being on March 19. The leadless
pacing technology offered a host
of potential benefits and shorter
procedure time as it only took 15 to
45 minutes to implant the device,
depending on the patient’s heart
condition.
Dr Azlan said Micra AV was also
The Micra AV pacemaker (centre) is
the world’s smallest pacemaker with
atrioventricular synchrony.
designed to provide a safe alternative to
conventional pacemakers, without the
complications associated with lead in the
long run.
“It is small enough to be delivered
through a catheter and implanted directly
into the heart with small tines and delivers
electrical impulses that pace the heart
through an electrode at the end of the
device,” he said.
Developed and manufactured by
Medtronic Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the Micra AV
is the first implantation performed outside
of the US and it was done within a couple
of months after receiving the pre-market
approval last January. — The Health
MMA, MMAF
and Shopee
raise funds for
frontliners
The national relief fund for
healthcare workers battling the
Covid-19 pandemic launched
jointly on April 4 by the
Malaysian Medical Association
(MMA) and the Malaysian
Medical Association Foundation
(MMAF) in collaboration
with online shopping
platform Shopee, has received
encouraging response.
According to Bernama,
President of MMA Foundation
(MMAF) Datuk R. Doraisingam
Pillai said RM699,830 has been
raised online through the
Shopee MMA Covid-19 Fund for
healthcare workers battling the
pandemic.
The fund is a collaborative
effort between MMA, MMAF and
an online shopping platform,
Shopee. It has collected an
accumulated amount of
RM964,881.
“All proceeds from the fund
will be channelled via MMAF
for the benefit of frontliners
fighting the pandemic,” he
added.
Shopee’s Regional Managing
Director Ian Ho said this fund
was important in ensuring that
medical workers are taken care
of so that the healthcare sector
is better positioned to continue
the good fight against Covid-19.
The Shopee MMA Covid-19
fund has attracted over 32,000
donors over the three-month
period since its launch.
Donations of RM5 were
made via the MMA and MMAF
digital storefront on the Shopee
application, with contributions
of RM100 and above getting
a tax-exempt receipt. — The
Health
Nation’s first oncofertility referral centre
NEW HOPE: Dr Adham Baba (third from left) at the launch of the ARC.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr
Adham Baba recently launched the
country’s first oncofertility referral
centre, known as the Advanced
Reproductive Centre (ARC). It is
housed at Hospital Chancellor
Tuanku Muhriz Hospital (HCTM),
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
According to the head of ARC
Dr Abdul Kadir Abdul Karim, the
services offered by the ARC include
ovarian tissue cryopreservation
(OTC), which stores the ovary tissues
extracted from cancer patients to
ensure fertility after treatments.
Diploma programmes on Embryology
and fellowships on the reproductive
field are also available at the centre.
Cancer-stricken patients, upon
diagnosis, will be referred by
their doctors to the ARC and they
will be briefed on the option to
preserve their reproductive tissues.
Their reproductive tissues will be
preserved at the centre for 10 to 20
years
Dr Adham Baba said more
scientists in the genetic and fertility
fields should utilise ARC as a
reference centre and he urged them
to contribute their expertise to the
facility. He added that the fertility
sector was one of the top three
sectors frequented by health tourists
based on data from the Malaysian
Health Tourism Council.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
(UKM) Vice-Chancellor, Prof Datuk Dr
Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor said: Based
on a report for the last three years,
the centre has on average carried out
300 to 350 in-vitro fertilisation (IVF)
cycles and 300 artificial insemination
cases as well as 10,000 reproductive
procedures and appointments set per
year.
The ARC was previously known
as the Medical Assisted Conception
(MAC) unit, which had provided
artificial insemination services in
1993.
“In 1997, the MAC offered and
provided infant tube testing services.
The MAC was later upgraded in 2011
as one of the hospital’s centres of
excellence,” he added.
Also present at the launch was
HCTM Director Prof Datuk Dr
Hanafiah Harunarashid. — The
Health