Promoting medical tourism, the State-run Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences has conducted four complex cardiac surgeries on patients from Indonesia. While all the four were discharged last week, another 15 from various countries including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Sri Lanka have been lined up for surgeries.
The four patients, including three children, are from Medan City of North Sumatra Province in Indonesia. While the children were suffering from complex congenital heart diseases, the fourth patient, a 28-year-old woman, had Rheumatic Heart Disease with complications. All the patients hail from poor families.
Institute director C.N. Manjunath said although doctors in Indonesia hospitals saw the patients, they were reluctant to conduct these surgeries. “We conducted the surgeries at subsidised costs. The surgeries were jointly funded by Indonesian Rotary, Bangalore Rotary International District 3190 and Needy Heart Foundation (NHF). The patients were admitted on July 21 through NHF chairman O.P. Khanna and Rtn. Rajendra Rai,” he said.
While three-year-old William Bunda Jaya underwent a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) Surgical Closure and Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA), five-year-old Osvaldo Lee underwent an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) device closure procedure. The third child, three-year-old Marcello Arka Sean, underwent an Intra-Cardiac Repair for Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). The woman, Indah Pratiwi Tanjung, underwent Mitral Valve Replacement surgery, the doctor said.
The surgeries were performed by a team of doctors comprising P.S. Seetharama Bhat, Divya, Jayaranganath, and Prabhakar apart from other associate doctors and staff.
One in thousand
“Out of every 1,000 babies born, at least seven have complex congenital diseases more commonly in the form of Tetralogy of Fallot, heart holes, or narrowing of the valves. The usual symptoms of heart holes are fever, recurrent cough, common cold, pneumonia, growth retardation, bluish discoloration of skin and nails, and poor weight gain,” Dr. Manjunath said.
