It’s not every day that a 91-year-old is operated on.
When K. Nannuba, a retired police officer living in Purasawalkam, came in to Billroth Hospitals about six weeks ago with a history of choking sensations and chest pain, doctors suspected a heart attack. An investigation by senior cardiologist S. Shanmugasundaram revealed reduced blood flow in the arteries of his heart, indicating that a heart attack was impending.
“There were multiple blocks in his coronary arteries, but these were not amenable to an angioplasty, due to the nature of the disease. We then had a difficult decision – a surgery had to be performed, but it would be risky,” said S. Thiagaraja Murthy, chief thoracic surgeon at the hospital.
The patient however, was fit and ready for the operation and so, after a discussion with his family and consultation with anaesthetists, doctors went ahead with the surgery.
An off pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery was performed in the first week of June, with the patient’s heart beating while the surgery was performed, said Dr. Thiagaraja Murthy.
There were a few post-operative complications, such as the patient not being able to cough properly, but these too were treated, and 15 days after the operation, Mr. Nannuba was discharged. A follow-up later revealed he was doing well.
“Recently, he celebrated Eid with his family. There was immense family support and we were very happy to have performed this relatively rare surgery,” said Dr. Thiagaraja Murthy.
