It was another sunny day in Madras in the summer of 1975. Khaja Mohideen, 39, was going about his daily routine when he experienced a sudden, crushing pain in his chest followed by shortness of breath. He was rushed to the Railway Hospital, where an ECG procedure revealed ischaemic heart disease requiring a coronary angiogram.
Investigation revealed coronary artery disease necessitating emergency coronary artery bypass surgery.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, Daisy D’Costa, in her early forties, experienced severe chest pain during mild exertional work. In her own words, the pain was so unbearable she was tearing off her clothes! She was taken to the Railway Hospital, where doctors diagnosed coronary artery disease that would require urgent bypass surgery. As it turned out, both Mr. Mohideen and Ms. D’Costa, were two extremely fortunate souls. They ended up at the right place at the right time with the right person. What followed would change the course of their lives.
Cardiac surgery had not yet taken roots in India. There were several stalwarts in India who had trained abroad under pioneers in the field and had started in a small way their practice of cardiothoracic surgery. However, coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) had not yet been performed in India owing to its complexity and the uncertainties surrounding the procedure.
Enter K.M. Cherian, a young surgeon who had just returned from his training in the U.S. and Australia and knew no fear. He had just the right stuff needed to help the innumerable coronary artery disease patients in India who were just being “written off”, saying CABG surgery was not yet an option in India. To him, there was no question of writing off his patients with some sub-optimal medical therapy. But it was a tough call for even the bravest, for operation theatres then were hardly equipped with the operating microscopes and the fine suture material that are mandatory for CABG surgery today. He took the plunge. For Mr. Mohideen and Ms. D’Costa it was a life-or-death situation.
On June 23, 1975, the very first coronary artery bypass surgery was performed in India on Mr. Mohideen, followed by Ms. D’Costa days later. This was a revolution in cardiac surgery in the country. Numerous cardiac surgeons stepped forward to attempt it. It took only a few years for ‘bypass surgery’ to become a household term. Today, even people who are at the highest risk are operated upon.
It has been 40 years since. Both Mr. Mohideen and Ms. D’Costa made their way into the future. Today they happily watch their grandchildren grow. They are the longest surviving CABG patients in India. When the palliative nature of CABG surgery is an established fact in scientific circles, and when the public are of the opinion that bypass surgery just adds some years to one’s life, this sure is an eye-opener.
balaji108@gmail.com
