Skopje, 19 September 2025 (MIA) - I completely stand behind what I said regarding abuses in heart surgery interventions. I have said this many times before, to other health authorities as well. This time it has triggered an avalanche of reactions, the public is stirred up, and rightly so. My main motivation for all this is to resolve the irregularities where we can, said cardiologist Sashko Kedev, who recently alleged that some hospitals in the country were doing unnecessary heart surgeries and implanting patients with stents, after which an expert committee including domestic and foreign doctors was set up to investigate the allegations. 

In an appearance on Alfa TV's "Late Night Show with Bogdan Ilievski" on Thursday, Kedev said this time the healthcare system reacted appropriately, a commission has been set up to inquire into the cases submitted to the Ministry of Health by doctors from the Cardiology Clinic and the State Cardiac Surgery. The goal, according to him, is to introduce appropriate control mechanisms and improve the healthcare system, which, he pointed out, is currently receiving the most investment.

"We are witnessing unprecedented investment in healthcare. Currently, there is the highest healthcare budget ever, but unfortunately we cannot see the benefits of it. The essence is to introduce control in the healthcare system that will result in improving the quality of services that citizens receive and prevent irregularities. These irregularities are not new, they date back many years. I have raised the issue many times, but found no backing. This time there is enormous support from both the public and the institutions, which is very positive. The current Minister of Health is the least involved in this and has nothing to do with these matters. I hope that the formation of a commission of domestic experts within the Ministry of Health, the international commission and the Medical Chamber will make a great contribution to clearing up all this, I am optimistic, and I believe that we will make a positive impact in this area," said Kedev. 

He believes that appropriate checks should be carried out in both public and private healthcare, and then have the findings of the commission evaluated by international experts.

"I believe we are on the right track. The most important thing is to introduce control and improve the system, and this should be an initial stimulus for that," Kedev said.

He pointed out that the claims he presented to the public and submitted to the Ministry of Health are not only his, but also the experiences of 16 expert doctors, interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons.

"Perhaps the least of these cases came into contact with me directly, mostly indirectly, through colleagues who consulted me. We have jointly identified irregularities. Our profession is exact, and it is easy to see whether something needs to be done or not. We often work in a gray area - when something can be done, but does not have to be done. The bottom line is, according to medically based evidence, very often nothing should be done, a conservative approach should be applied, patients should be advised on an appropriate lifestyle, healthy diet and optimal drug therapy under the supervision of a specialist doctor. There are certainly cases where the most aggressive cardiac surgical treatment is necessary, but we need to have a system when we recommend it to the patients as the best thing for them," Kedev pointed out. 

As regards whether it is possible to prove abuse, he said "there is a gray area, but there is also a safe area where we know that nothing has to be done and that is strongly proven with the documentation we have".

"A distinction needs to be made regarding irregularities. There is a gray area in which both are possible. But we also have an area in which we know that nothing has to be done and that is strongly provable with the documentation we have. We work with angiographic films, the entire procedure is recorded and that evidence can only be evaluated by competent experts - an interventional cardiologist or a cardiac surgeon," said Kedev.

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