CHRISTMAS GIFT TO PATIENT – EMERGENCY BYPASS HEART SURGERY SAVES BRAVEHEART BLIND PATIENTS LIFE

Ludhiana(Talwinder singh)  

Mr  Surinder Pal Sethi  - a  65 year old resident  of Islam Ganj   , Ludhiana   was in a very difficult situation. He  had a blockage in his heart arteries which led to a massive heart attack . His heart pumping was weak and he continued to have chest pain . His  angiography showed severe blockage of his main arteries.  He was then seen by Dr Harinder Singh Bedi – Head of Cardio Vascular and Thoracic Surgery - at the prestigious Christian Medical College and Hospital , Ludhiana.   Dr Bedi realised that there was a  tremendous strain on Mr Sethi‘s heart and he had a risk of getting another attack which could well be  fatal .

Dr Bedi has trained at the St Vincents Hospital  in Sydney where he has seen such cases deteriorating rapidly if timely surgery is not done . Dr Bedi realized that the only way out was a high risk emergency surgery . At surgery the heart and lungs were found to be severly diseased and weak  . He underwent a lifesaving beating heart bypass surgery – Dr Bedi is a pioneer in this and has published the world’s first paper of beating heart surgery with angiographic followup . By  Gods grace and a lot of hard work by the Heart Team – Mr Sethi did well .  However what had been of major concern to all the staff was that Mr Sethi was blind from birth . This posed unique anesthesia and nursing problems . The CTVS staff took extra care to communicate with Mr Sethi so that he would understand all about his surgery and post op recovery . Dr Bedi explained that the awareness of the patient about his post op care is paramount to an early recovery . Sister Balwinder – the ICU incharge and her team took extra pains in pre and post op care .

The other members of the cardiac team involved in this marathon surgery were  Dr Shital Garg – Head of Cardiac Anesthesia , Dr Anish V, Dr Shruti, Dr Binu , Dr Anish G ,Dr Rejul, Mr William and Mr Jairus .  

Mr Sethi is now doing well. According to Dr Bedi he should now have a  normal life now . Mr Sethi   considers himself   fighting fit now .  The whole CTVS CMC Heart Team was very impressed by the braveheart never – say- die positive attitude of the patient and his  family . In spite of being blind from birth Mr   Sethi  has a very sunny  outlook on life . He has a sharp  memory and knew the names of all the ICU nurses who took care of him after surgery . With guidance he was able to walk in the corridors of the hospital with confidence . Mr Sethi and his extended family of sisters and their children expressed their gratitude to CMC & H for having saved him on the eve of the great occasion of Christmas. He considers his new lease of life a gift from the Almighty. 

Dr Abraham G Thomas – Director of CMC – emphasised that now complex heart surgeries are being done successfully in CMC. This is possible because of the excellent infrastructure and faculty of CMC . He said that CMC is committed to bring International level cardiac care to the doorsteps of the people of this region.