CARE Hospital Bhubaneshwar performs critical surgery

Bhubaneswar: Amid the ongoing pandemic, a specialised team of Cardiac Surgeons at CARE Hospitals successfully performed a rare triple valve surgery along with permanent pacemaker implantation on a 60-year-old patient.

The surgical correction of significant valvular regurgitation consists of the repair or replacement of all valves affected by a pathologic process.

Triple valve surgery (either replacement of aortic, mitral, and tricuspid valves, or combined replacement of aortic and mitral valves with tricuspid valve repair) is still a considered difficult and challenging for surgeons due to prolonged periods of cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross-clamp times

The patient visited the hospital with complaints of severe breathlessness, history of jaundice and a body swelling for the past two months.

Upon admission, further tests revealed deranged liver functions along with decreased platelet counts and protein level. To make matters more complicated, the patient had undergone a valve replacement 7 years back.

Explaining about the seven hour long surgery, Dr Subhakant Biswal, Consultant Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, CARE Hospitals Bhubaneswar said, “Initially due to her health condition, we treated the patient with medicines before preparing for surgery. We replaced two valves and did a redo surgery to repair the third valve. Post the surgery, we extubated the patient two hours later and monitored her conditions closely.”

“The patient recovered uneventfully except for a slow heart beat – 45-50 beats/minute. Thus, after an internal consultation, we decided to implant a permanent pacemaker. Since the patient was recovering from the previous surgery, we took utmost precautions. The surgery well and the patient’s condition was stable,” he added. 

Gurrit Kaur, Hospital Chief Operating Officer, CARE Hospitals Bhubaneshwar said, “Surgeries like this which includes multiple procedures are complicated and any delay can result in the loss of life. Therefore it is important that patients do not delay treatment and contact the doctor/ hospital for timely help.

The age of the patient and her delicate health condition made her an easy target to get affected with COVID-19 and further complicate things. Keeping that in mind we assigned the patient to an isolation ward and designated a separate medical team for the surgery and a separate team of nurses were exclusively made available so that there was minimal chance of infection.”

“As a part of our precaution protocols and to ensure the safety of the patients and employees, the hospital has put in place numerous social distancing and infection control protocols to control the spread of the virus.

A separate facility and medical staff have been set up for screening COVID-19 suspected patients and to ensure that other patients, caregivers and employees at the hospital are not exposed to the environment,” she added.

In a bid to restore normalcy in the hospitals amid the pandemic, CARE Hospitals has reopened all its medical services including Out Patient Departments (OPDs) and elective care services.

This commitment is a part of the group’s focus to provide full-service capabilities to its patients amid the ongoing pandemic.

Post the surgery; the patient had an excellent recovery.

According to the Cardiac team, the patient has responded very well to the treatment and was discharged today.