IN MEMORY OF MRS SAWATT. SHE PLAYED A ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CARDIOLOGY AND ANGIOLOGY IN MALAYSIA

                                         Mrs Rosie Sawatt 3rd Oct 1941 - 10th March 2014

I first met Mrs Sawatt in 1976 when I had to send patients to the cath lab in UHKL, for cardiac catheterisation.  She was then working under Prof Ung Ah Hoo in the radiology department as an angiographic scrub nurse. When UHKL started the country's first angiographic unit in the late 60s with Prof Ung Ah Hoo, Prof HO Wong and visiting Prof Ward Keneddy, Mrs Sawatt worked with all of them, and so should rightly be remembered as Malaysia's first angiographic scrub nurse.
She helped me to learn the basics in angiogram, like catheters, introducers, puncture needles, how to clean them, drip them and blow dry them before EO gasing.
When we started angioplasty, with her basic knowledge she was a great help to get this new procedure started in 1988, and when we started the stent program in 1991.
When I was invited to work in Beijing in 1993, to help them use the Palmaz Schatz stent, I chose to bring Mrs Sawatt with me, so that she could tell them what we needed for coronary stenting with the SDS system. At that time the Palmaz Schatz stent was mounted on the 5F SDS ( Stent delivery system ) and we had t use an 8F guiding catheter. I brought Mrs Sawatt as she knew what we needed and how to help. This was new to Beijing then. Remember, this was 1993. Of course, now the stents are well crimped and easily deliverable.
Anyway, I felt that we should remember our nurses who have contributed to the progress of cardiology in Malaysia.
She passed away peacefully on the 10th March 2014 after a short illness, at the age of 73 yrs.

Rest In Peace Sawatt, Your lives journey is done. We all miss you.