NEW DELHI: According to Aakash Healthcare where the surgery was conducted, doctors performed a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) on a patient with limb-girdle disease without muscle relaxants or inhalation drugs.
A panel of doctors led by anaesthetists and cardiac surgeons managed this groundbreaking case of a 63-year-old Ayurvedic practitioner. It marks the first reported instance of a limb-girdle muscular dystrophy patient undergoing a coronary artery bypass graft using total intravenous anaesthesia.
Giving more insights into the case, the hospital said that doctors advised against the use of general anaesthesia due to the neurological nature of the patient’s disorder.
“General anaesthesia and certain medications used during surgery were contraindicated as they could exacerbate muscle weakness, a characteristic of muscular dystrophy. Moreover, paralysing agents could further hinder muscle strength recovery,” the hospital stated.
Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy is a congenital disease that gradually weakens the muscles over time. The patient had been living with this condition for 20 years, with dysfunctionality of lower limbs.