From May 16 to 18, Austrian-Armenian vascular surgeon Ara Oughourlian is performing free vascular surgeries at the Republican Medical Center in Stepanakert.

In an interview with Artsakhpress, Ara Oughourlian said he has been visiting Stepanakert and performing vascular surgeries with the local specialists for the past three years.

He stated that his goal is to treat clogged vessels without surgical interventions with his colleagues in Artsakh. Oughourlian is scheduled to perform 16 surgeries.

Artsakhpress’s interlocutor said the vascular surgeons in Artsakh are already able to perform such surgeries on their own. “Our studies have shown that smoking is the main reason for clogged vessels for over 70% of men. The nicotine in a cigarette destroys the walls of vessels and makes them thin, and this leads to atherosclerosis and clogging of vessels. Vascular diseases mainly emerge after 40,” Oughourlian said.

Head of the Angiography Unit of the Republican Medical Center Gevorg Amirjanyan said the Unit performs invasive interventions for the pulses of the lower extremities.

According to him, Oughourlian’s last two visits were more instructive for him and the other doctors, and this time, he and the other doctors are performing vascular surgeries under the supervision of the Austrian-Armenian surgeon.

“It is safe to say that the issue of invasive interventions for pulses of lower extremities is solved, but there may be special cases when there might be a need for the assistance of experienced professionals,” Amirjanyan stated.

The hospital’s angiographic device helps perform not only interventions for coronary pulses of the heart, but also various types of other peripheral surgeries.

According to the Head of the Angiography Unit, the problem is not as much the devices and tools as much as the right diagnosis of patients in order to know if the patient needs an intervention or an open surgery and which disease requires treatment through medication.