Novel bypass surgery performed

New Delhi, February 19: Doctors at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital have performed a first of its kind multiple graft heart bypass surgery with the help of a least invasive technique.

The surgery was performed on a 53-year old woman and the notable thing is that not even a single bone was cut.

Doctors revealed that the latest procedure causes less pain than the routine bypass surgery and heals much faster. Dr. Naresh Trehan, Senior Cardiovascular and Thoracic surgeon at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital was quoted as saying, “This is the first time in India multiple grafts have been put, especially at the backside of the heart, through minimally invasive coronary surgery. In conventional bypass, the sternumdefine is cut open and that takes at least 6-8 weeks to heal. In the new method no bone is cut.”

The novel technique will be very helpful, especially in the case of diabetics. Also, any patient in need of a coronary bypass can undergo surgery using the new procedure.

Suman Singhal, the patient on whom the surgery was performed, was rushed to Apollo Hospital after she experienced recurring pain in her left arm. She was diagnosed with multiple blockages last week.

Suman Singhal was told about the latest technology available for her cure and she readily agreed to undergo the surgery.

Dr. Trehan said, “The cosmetic damage is very less. In women, one can’t even see the scar as it is below the breast. We procured specialized instruments on Friday and operated on her the next day.”

The surgery involved making three incisions. Out of these, two were utilized to interject the machinery that stabilized the heart. From the third incision, the bypass was performed manually by the surgeon.

Elaborating on the procedure, Dr. Trehan said, “The equipment is designed such that the two instruments stabilize the heart. One instrument, called an octopus stabiliser is inserted from the right side and has a suction pump attached to it. This instrument sucks the heart and stabilizes it. The other instrument, inserted from the left, also helps in stabilizing the beating heart. An 8cm-long incision is made underneath the breast through which we manually put the grafts taken from the internal mammary arterydefine and radial artery.”

The latest technique enables putting grafts at the heart’s backside, which is otherwise quite tough. Dr. Trehan added that even a robotic surgery could not help in putting the grafts at the backside of the heart. But in the new technique, the instrument that clutches the heart can rotate it in such a way that the heart’s backside can be seen clearly by the surgeon.

Doctors said that there are several benefits of the new technology over conventional bypass. Dr. Yatin Mehta, Senior Consultant, Anaesthesia, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital explained, “We don’t require many blood transfusions. In Suman’s case, we didn’t require any blood transfusion. The hospital stay is also short as compared to conventional surgery in which the patient stays in hospital for 7-8 days and takes 6-8 weeks for complete recovery.”

Moreover, the new surgery is cheaper than the routine surgical process because the person has to spend only three to four days in the hospital. Also, the number of consumables used is minimal.