A HEART surgery that is rarely performed in the world was done in Fiji in the past two weeks, according to a cardiac surgeon from India.
After some surgeries he performed, the surgeon thinks the complexity of heart surgeries in Fiji is now increasing.
Dr Chandrashekhar Kulkarni and a team of specialists from India were brought to Fiji by Sahyadri Specialty Pacific Hospital Ltd (SSPHL) Fiji.
He performed 23 heart surgeries at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva.
“Of the 23, six patients had complex surgeries, one of which is a rare surgery even in India and the world,” he said.
“I think the complexity of surgeries here is increasing and we are getting challenging cases now.
“There was a wide range of patients this time and about 75 per cent of the range of heart surgeries in the world were performed in Fiji this time.”
Dr Kulkarni said the complex and rare surgeries he performed on his seventh trip to Fiji showed that medical awareness was increasing and diagnosis was improving.
“There will be a phase when more patients will be coming up and there will be more and different heart diseases,” he said.
“The heart diseases in patients here that I’ve operated on are much more advanced than in India.
“Every trip to Fiji is interesting because I get new cases all the time but this one was very interesting and challenging because of the complex surgeries.
“The standard of heart surgeries done in Fiji by our team is exceptionally good and on par with international standards, even though more complex surgeries were performed this time.”
Dr Kulkarni said a 53-year-old man had a hole in his heart and he needed a bypass surgery.
He said he had to stop the man’s heart and go deep inside to close the hole and then perform the bypass, which took him about four hours.
“It was very interesting as it is very rare for someone between 50 and 55 years to have both surgeries at once, even in India and the world,” he said.
“His heart had to be stopped and he was put on a machine for the rare surgery.”
Dr Kulkarni also said for the first time in Fiji, a tissue valve was inserted in a 75-year-old woman’s heart.
He said two men in their 60s, who were also chronic kidney dialysis patients, were operated on — another first for the country.
Dr Kulkarni said a 55-year-old man who had paralysis in 2012 and still had problems in his body also had heart surgery.
He said a 75-year-old woman with kidney problems also had surgery to remove a blockage in her heart.
Dr Kulkarni said the other patients had open heart surgeries to remove blockages. He said the 23 surgeries were successful.
SSPHL Fiji director Professor Manu Munibhargav said the complex and rare surgeries performed by his team this time meant a lot for Fiji.
The next open heart surgeries by the Indian team brought by SSPHL is scheduled for August 15.
