KOCHI: In what could be a first in the State’s healthcare sector, doctors at Aster Medcity here successfully performed four complex cardiac surgeries on the same day, in a marathon session.
The complicated aortic endovascular procedures were performed by the cardio vascular thoracic surgery team at the hospital, of whom three are octogenarians. All the four patients were discharged soon after the procedure.
Aortic endovascular procedure was required in the patients to correct dissection and damage to the aortic aneurysm. The condition affects the walls of the aorta, which is the main artery transporting blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
In aortic aneurysm, weakening of the muscles of aortic walls causes it to widen and expand. Aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition, in which a small tear on the aortic wall causes it to split apart. Both the conditions require urgent surgery to prevent rupture of the aortic wall.
“Surgery on the aortic arch is a highly complex procedure. In all the four cases, we used hybrid surgical procedure, which is safer than the conventional procedure. The stent graft was delivered to the required location in the aorta using long, thin tubes (catheters) through small incisions in the groin,” said Aster cardio-vascular thoracic surgery senior consultant Dr Manoj P Nair who led the team.
“Endovascular procedures have been developed to avoid the risk involved in open surgery, especially in the elderly. Owing to the need for imaging devices to visualise the blood vessels, endovascular procedures need to be performed with special equipment,” added Dr Manoj.