Doctors at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) carried out the facility’s first-ever coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) operation recently, with the aim of extending cardiac care services to a wide section of the public.
The procedure was done by a team of doctors led by A. Kumaravel, professor, Department of Cardio Thoracic Surgery, K.A.P.V. Government Medical College, on a 45-year-old male patient, from Krishnarayapuram town in Karur district, it was announced at a press gathering on Saturday.
“After an angiography revealed extensive blockage of two cardiac arteries, we prepared the patient to undergo coronary bypass surgery. Such cases were usually referred to government hospitals in Madurai or Chennai earlier, but for the first time, we were able to operate on the patient in Tiruchi,” Dr. Kumaravel told The Hindu.
The three-hour operation took place on October 13, and the patient’s recovery is on track, he added.
Cardiac arteries supply blood to the heart muscle, and are wrapped around the outside of the organ. They can get blocked due to excess cholesterol and other substances in the blood that can form deposits on the walls.
In the patient’s case, his 20-year-habit of smoking may have caused the problem, said doctors.
The medical team used an artery from the patient’s leg and grafted it surgically on the heart to help create a bypass for the cardiac artery. Blocks in both the affected arteries were set right with this technique.
“We had to opt for bypass surgery because stents were not feasible in this case. The positive result will encourage us to cater to many more patients requiring advanced cardiac care in Tiruchi. This procedure is available to patients free of cost under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme,” said E. Arun Raj, medical superintendent, MGMGH.
