Berhampur: Open-heart surgery has resumed at MKCG Medical College and Hospital(MKCGMCH) in Berhampur after a 36-year hiatus,marking a significant step for the region’s cardiac care.The open heart surgery was conducted on a 26 year old woman on yesterday.Though the hospital authorities denied to provide the details of the surgery,but confirmed the surgery conducted on the woman,who had a small hole in her heart.The surgery took over three hours on yesterday.However,the patient has been shifted to ICU and is on ventilator and under strict observation.During 90`s the MCH has conducted three open heart surgeries by the then surgeons of the department Prof Suresh mishra,Sachi mishra.However,no open heart surgery conducted during last more than three and half decades,said the MCH records.Despite having necessary machinaries,no open heart surgery was conducted.The delay was primarily due to the lack of a trained perfusionist, a specialist essential for operating the heart-lung machine.The Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET) has now addressed this by deputing a perfusionist from another medical college, SCB MCH in Cuttack to MKC GMCH.The new CTVS (Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery)department,equipped with a modern operating theatre and essential machinery,is now operational within the PMSSY block.A fortnight ago,the perfusionist joined at the MKCG MCH.The CTVS department opened in the MCH around five years ago,with all the required machinaries,is housed on the fifth floor of the multi speciality block at the MCH.Still no open heart surgery caouldnot be done due to lack of a perfusionist.Though,the MCH is the refferal hospital for the southern districts and people with heart ailments reach the MCH,but all the complicated cases reffered to hospitals at Bhubaneswar,Cuttack or Visakhapatanam.Several organisations has repeatedly urged for appointment of a perfusionist,as the southern region has a good number of heart patients.Even the social organisations resorted to agitational path,but to no avail.As a result of which,patients in need of complex cardiac procedures were forced to seek treatment at expensive private hospitals.However,after BJP came to power,steps were initiated to meet the need and to make the CTVS department to conduct open heart surgery,following repeated urge by the MCH Supt,Prof Suchitra dash.The CTVS department is equipped with a modern operation theatre and advanced medical equipment necessary for complex heart surgeries.Even it has the heart-lung machine, which maintains blood circulation in the body during heart surgery.Despite having the infrastructure,the absence of expert handling of the machinaries by a perfusionist,the department had stalled surgeries until now,but the problem over,said Prof Sarada prasanna sahu,Associate professor and HOD of the CTVS.With the perfusionist now in place,the CTVS department,which conducted two critical operations,by removing a piece of a knife which stuck on the cheast of a man and a arrow that pierced on the chest near the heart.Now our department is ready to conduct critical heart operations like septal defects,valve disorders and coronary artery bypass procedures,said Prof Sahu.Now another four patients in the MCH has been shortlisted for open heart surgery.
