MANGALURU: Dr Klein Dantis, a 35-year-old thoracic surgeon from the coastal city of Mangaluru, was part of the world's first successful mucor lung surgery that took place at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Raipur, early this month.
Raised in Kinnigoli, Klein completed his MBBS and MS in Mangaluru, and superspeciality training at National Institute of TB and Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi. He worked for a year at All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Bhopal, before being appointed consultant at AIIMS Raipur.
The challenging surgery which Klein led, along with thoracic surgeon Dr Nitin Kashyap from the same medical institute, has brought them huge recognition, especially in the medical fraternity. Klein told The New Indian Express that after the surgery, many such COVID lung infection patients are being referred to the hospital.
Given that pulmonary mucormycosis has a mortality rate of 60-70 per cent, and the patient had a history of tuberculosis and renal transplant, the young doctor said it was very challenging to operate on such a case. "The lung infection had affected the blood supply between heart and lungs. This was one of first cases of Covid patients with TB and renal transplant, diagnosed and operated on successfully globally," pointed out Dr Klein Dantis.
The patient was discharged within a fortnight and is leading a good life. Prof Dr Nitin M Nagarkar, Director, CEO, All India Institute of Medical Sciences - Raipur, who has operated on more than 100 naso-orbital mucormycosis patients, congratulated the team of doctors for its success in managing the disease and assured the people of the nation and beyond, that many such challenging cases will be operated on at All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Raipur.