First awake open heart surgery in Wockhardt hospital

Hyderabad, Sep 25 (UNI) Wockhardt Heart Centre, LB Nagar, conducted its first Awake open-heart surgery on a 60-year-old patient, who had a hole in his heart and developed high pressures in his pulmonary circulation.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Sameer Diwale performed the procedure on Venkateshwarlu, whose habit of chronic smoking had affected his lungs too.

''Advanced age and poor lung function made him an ideal candidate for the awake technique,'' Dr Diwale said in a press release here today.

Under the Awake Heart Surgery procedure, a patient is administered Epidural Thoracic Anaesthesia, a method where a catheter is placed high up in the spine and an anaesthetic drug given through it to block pain sensation. The patient is awake, lightly sedated but communicating and breathing on his own throughout the surgery without the need for artificial or mechanical ventilation, he said.

''Open heart surgery in patients with chronic respiratory problems is fraught with difficulties. Avoidance of general anesthesia and artificial ventilation may potentially be beneficial to these patients. These subset of patients benefit from Awake Heart Surgery,'' he said.

The operation went off smoothly and the patient is recovering in the post-operating unit. He will be discharged in three to four days, Dr Diwale added.

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