Sunday Times 2
Bypassing bypass: A much debated alternative
Western Medicine has for a long time been using a substance called EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid) in the treatment of heavy metal poisoning in humans, especially lead and mercury poisoning. This substance works by binding to the heavy metal as though by means of a claw, to form a new compound that can be easily expelled by urine via the kidneys. This process is commonly called chelation.
Chelation therapy for heavy metal poisoning is administered by an intravenous drip and has been the standard practice for a very long time. Lead and mercury were the commonest heavy metals people were poisoned with and which required EDTA Chelation Therapy, due to the frequency of their use in automobile petrol and many types of paints.
It was back in the 1950s that the doctors who were treating their patients for lead and mercury poisoning also discovered that not only did their patients get cured from their lead and mercury poisoning symptoms when treated with EDTA, but some who also had
Ravi Jayewardene
coronary artery problems too were cured of their symptoms when treated with EDTA infusions. This was an accidental discovery. It was also a very convenient discovery as EDTA was not a newly invented drug that had to undergo numerous tests and trials before it was found to be suitable for use on humans.
It had already been used on humans for a very long time. Dr. Elmer Cranton MD., a long time chelation advocate and the author of “Bypassing the Bypass” and the “New Technique of Chelation Therapy” said, “Patients chelated for lead poisoning noticed that they felt better after their treatments. Those who also had arteriosclerosis reported that they too were able to walk longer distances and had less chest and leg pain. Even those with angina said they could exert themselves more without discomfort.”
This was an unexpected result and a few researchers took notice of it. These researchers theorized that because EDTA also binds to calcium it may be able to break down and shrink the buildup inside arteries as calcium is one of the main components of arteriosclerotic plaque. This would then improve circulation and also reduce leg pain and angina by improving the circulation in the arteries including the coronary arteries.
It was when I was having severe Coronary Artery disease that I came upon chelation. Having had a heart attack in my 30′s and having been free of symptoms for a few years I had got careless with my physical health. At the time I was unable to walk very much without getting angina which made me stop. I was also getting frequent Unstable Angina. This is the type of angina pain one gets when one is at rest. I was recommended immediate Bypass Surgery; otherwise the cardiologists predicted that my life expectancy would not be more than a few months.
I was however reluctant to do bypass surgery. I knew that bypass surgery was at best a poor plumbing job on your coronary arteries, where blocked or clogged up coronary arteries are replaced with veins that are pulled out from some other part of your body. Obviously veins are incapable of working as effectively as arteries, for a job that arteries have to do. I was also reluctant to have my sternum sawed open for the surgeon to access the site of the problem so that he may do this inferior plumbing repair. I did not want to be blessed with an extended further ten years of life in that manner.
I theorized that in this age of advancement in technology and scientific research, where we have placed men on the moon and brought them back safely, someone somewhere in this world must surely have found an alternative to bypass surgery for coronary artery disease. My wife searched the hardest to find this alternative. She finally succeeded in learning of a doctor in Western Australia who was practising a technique, as the informant said, of purifying the blood in the body by means of an intravenous drip given through a vein in the arm.
On investigation we gathered that it was a technique that he used to alleviate the symptoms of coronary artery disease in his patients. Before long I was in the care of Dr. Neil Scrimgeour of Western Australia doing Chelation Therapy. He had a well-run clinic with many patients and personally supervised them during their treatment. They were all connected up to intravenous drips containing EDTA and a variety of other substances including vitamins.
I initially did 30 drips twice a week and it was only towards the end of my30 drips that I began to feel an improvement in my condition, where my angina began to disappear. Dr. Scrimgeour was competent and kind and showed genuine concern for his patients. He persisted with me until my unstable angina had gone and I was free of angina except during the most strenuous exercise. We became close friends with Dr. Scrimgeour, and at the end of my treatment he gave me my last 10 drips free of charge.
He was a kind and compassionate man and liked to see people free of illness and pain. He was from the old school of doctors before the era of specialization; therefore his experience was vast and varied. From gynaecology to surgery, he had done it all and even at that time he had a considerable private practice quite apart from his chelation clinic.
Back in Sri Lanka, the lack of an alternative treatment for coronary artery disease struck us forcefully. They had no alternative but to live with pain and to finally succumb to their disease or resort to an expensive coronary artery bypass procedure which many could not afford.
My wife said that this problem could be solved if we could open a chelation clinic in Sri Lanka. The idea was a good one as we could then provide treatment to so many poor people who would otherwise be subject to a painful condition which would most probably lead to premature death. As neither of us were medically qualified, and no one in Sri Lanka knew anything about chelation therapy, this posed a few practical problems. We struck upon the only solution that we could think of. Dr. Neil Scrimgeour of Western Australia. If we could somehow persuade the good doctor to come to Sri Lanka to train some of our doctors and to set up a chelation clinic, the job would be done. We were prepared to pay for his passage and accommodation.
We wrote to Dr. Scrimgeour and told him what we had in mind. We were pleasantly surprised at his response. He said that he would come to help us. He also said that he will come at his own expense, and that he will be happy to help. We had five Sri Lankan doctors who empathized with us and saw the need for an alternative treatment for those who could not afford the main-stream bypass surgery. These doctors were prepared and enthusiastic to undergo training with Dr. Scrimgeour. So with the invaluable help of Kumar de Silva, Chairman and Managing Director of Alliance Finance Co. who gave us his knowledge, expertise and help regarding all the details of setting up a smoothly working clinic, and the Australian Doctor and our local doctors, true humanitarians with compassionate hearts, we set up Sri Lanka’s first chelation clinic 15 years ago.
Subsequently in Colombo a few other Chelation clinics have been set up for which we have given our expertise and assistance. Our clinic has treated over one thousand patients and continues to serve those who choose a less expensive and non-invasive treatment to increase blood flow. Many diabetes, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease patients have received treatment with success. Chelation Therapy is a great treatment to detoxify the blood and should be considered by anyone who has been exposed to atmospheric pollution, paints, fuels, varnishes and chemicals.
Medical professionals, mainly the cardiologists and some cardiac surgeons have been very slow to accept the practical results of chelation therapy as they declare that irrefutable scientific proof has not been supplied for chelation therapy. This is a trend the world over, this country included.
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