Asiri Surgical performs country’s first dextrocardiac surgery
The Asiri Group of Hospitals, which has a history of introducing several ‘firsts’ to Sri Lanka’s healthcare sector, recently announced the successful completion of the country’s first dextrocardia surgery that was performed at Asiri Surgical using the ‘Minimally Invasive Coronary Surgery’ method.
The team at the ‘Asiri Heart Centre,’ with the expertise of Dr. Vivek Gupta- Senior Consultant and Cardiothoracic Surgeon, undertook the courageous task of seeing Mr. B.Y. Jinadasaof Hettipola, a victim of Dextrocardia,to a sound recovery.
“I’m ever grateful to Asiri Surgical for giving me a second chance in life, as all of my other options failed to provide any sort of hope of being restored back to full health. After realizing the abnormal positioning of my heart and organs due to the sudden heart attack I experienced recently, I was advised that it carried major risks. Although my chances of survival seemed very slim, I was recommended to Dr. Gupta at Asiri Surgical and thanks to him and his dedicated staff, I was able to recover within four days and get back to my life,” Mr. Jinadasa testified on his complete recovery fromDextrocardia.
Dextrocardia, scientifically called ‘dextrocardiasitusinversus,’is a congenital condition in which the heart is located on the right side of the chest which also causes the other organs of the body to be located on the opposite side.While the cause of dextrocardia is unknown it is believed to occur in approximately 1 in 12,000 people.
Performing a Minimally Invasive Coronary Surgery in a Dextrocardiac situation, involves aprocedure of an incision of about 2 to 3 inches, instead of the 8 to 10 inch incision required for traditional heart bypass operations. This technique requires specialized surgical instruments such as fiber optics, cameras and robotic technology that provides cardiac surgery with the necessary tools to progress to less invasive approaches, which only Asiri Surgical has been able to make available in Sri Lanka.
Speaking on the increasing demand for minimally invasive surgeries Dr. Gupta stated “Today, there is an immense demand for this surgery as many people try to avoid further complications which could occur afterconventional Coronary Arterial Bypass Grafting. We have invested heavily on specialized surgical instruments and educating surgeons and I’m proud to state that Asiri Surgical is the only hospital in Sri Lanka that is fully equipped with the right equipment and expertise to perform this surgery.”
Dr. Gupta, who counts many years of experience conducting over 8000 bypasses of which 2500 were performed in Sri Lanka also has a success rate of over 50 Minimally Invasive Coronary Surgeries in the country with no result of mortality.
Minimally invasive surgeries haveproven todelivermanybenefits such as overcoming multiple blocks, less trauma to the skin, bone and muscle while patients can avoid the visibility of any sort of surgical scars or wounds on the chest area. It also lowers the risk of post-surgery infection and bleeding while ensuring a shorter recovery time witha promise of a quick return to normal activities.This relatively new technique has been in existence for the past 5 years and has only been conducted in a few centres around the world.
