Wockhardt Hospitals Blog

A team of cardiac experts led by Dr. N S Devananda, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, Wockhardt Hospitals,Bangalore (now a Fortis Hospitals Network ) has performed a major open heart surgery on a 2 year old baby from Nigeria. Baby Brendan was suffering from congenital heart defect called – Tetralogy of Fallot or complex blue baby syndrome.

“Baby Brendan was brought to us in a condition which was complicated and need surgical intervention to correct the anomaly. In this syndrome the pure and impure blood gets mixed in the heart and the amount of blood flow to the lungs is decreased. It is the most common complex heart defect, representing 55-70%, and the most common cause of blue baby syndrome. It can prove fatal if it is not treated in time,” said Dr. N S Devananda, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, Wockhardt Hospitals.

The other bigger challenge which came before the surgery was the fact that the baby’s parents belonged to the Jehovah Witness community and as per their religious belief they oppose to any form of transfusion of blood and any blood products however they could accept other from of treatment. This made the case all the more complicated.

“Babies with Tetrology of Fallout have two treatment options – the first is palliative where no open heart surgery is done and the defect is treated with shunt operation. The second is complete repair – which is definitive treatment where the patient undergoes an open heart surgery with a heart lung machine. In the case of Baby Brendan we obviously chose the second option due to its curative value. But the problem we faced was that the heart lung machine requires 500 ml of blood by itself to drive away the air and still haemoglobin at acceptable level. The challenge was with the baby weighed only 11 kgs and his blood volume was 800 – 900 ml and to conduct an open heart proved difficult without additional usage of blood” said Dr. Devananda.

The team devised many things technically to make operative time shorter and do the best possible ways so that re-operation or re-exploration can be avoided and the ICU stay is reduced. The heart lung machine circuit was modified in such a way that total priming volume was reduced to the least possible; the haemo-filteration technique was used in such a way that excess water from the body is removed and it gives back the RBC’s to the body. We also had to reduce the sampling to the least possible for various tests.

Brendan can live an active life like any other child of his age as this is a one time complete correction and his post op ECHO is satisfactory.

Brendan’s mother Ettieh’s faith in Jehovah has strengthened after this incident. She says, “Everybody should give proper attention to their child and keep monitoring the health of the baby time and again. Till one year when Brendan was not keeping too well and was not gaining weight we got very concerned and kept taking to the local physicians in Nigeria. However nobody could give us a proper answer to his continuous ill health until last year August, 09 Brendan complained of breathlessness and pain on his left chest.

A thorough examination indicated that my baby has some heart complication which needed to be treated immediately. Being a member of the Jehovah Witness community our challenge was to take Brendan to the right hands where surgery was possible without using blood transfusion. That’s when one of our friends at Nigeria who knew about Wockhardt Hospitals and their expertise in performing surgery without blood transfusion suggested us and we finally decided to fly Brendan down here for treatment. Initially when we decided to come to India for treatment I was engulfed with mixed feelings, but with the kind of care and response we received here I was quite confident that I have brought my baby to the right place.”

Doctors at Wockhardt Hospitals,Bangalore led by Dr. Ganeshakrishnan Iyer, Consultant Cardiovascular Surgeon, gave a news lease of life to 68 year old man who was suffering from Chronic Type B Dissection of the Aorta with rupture in the Plura (space around the lung) a condition with high fatality rate. He was returned to normal life after a marathon ten hour surgery to repair the breached aorta.

Sampangi, a retired employee of BHEL, first complained of pain in the chest, back and knee as early as 2003. After, initial treatment at a hospital in the city, he was sent home as the doctors felt that his condition was too risky for surgery. He was normal for a while and then the symptoms resurfaced within a couple of years. Once again he started complaining of pain in the knee, back and chest which his family ignored it initially. As time went by the pain became unbearable and he found it difficult to walk a few steps. He was confined to bed for more than 3 months. Later, he stopped taking solid food because of pain while swallowing.

At this stage he was brought to Wockhardt Hospitals to consult Dr. Ranganath Nayak, Consultant Cardiologist, who diagnosed him with Chronic Type B Dissection of the Aorta with rupture in the Plura. He was loosing blood in the chest (plural cavity) and his lung was compressed necessitating surgery. He was then referred to Dr. Ganeshakrishnan Iyer, Consultant, Cardiovascular Surgeon, Wockhardt Hospitals who performed the surgery.On 7th November 2009 Sampangi underwent the surgery which surgery lasted for more than 10 hours.

Post surgery, Sampangi was kept under observation for 3 days and later shifted to the room. He started having solid food the next day and started walking for 5 minutes with minimal help.

Treatment

14th November,2009 was a special day for Wockhardt Hospitals,Bangalore.Apart from being Children s Day .. the day also celebrated as the day when Children from all over the city assembled at the hospital to say a big Cheers to Life. These Children were all at some point of their lives threatened by life threating congenital disorders,who managed to overcome their medical problems with a little help from the Hospital.

More than 50 children aged between 3 and 13 who had undergone cardiac surgery at Wockhardt Hospitals were treated to a variety of fun filled activities on the occasion of Children’s Day. Dr Devananda, Pediatric, Cardiac Surgeon Wockhardt Hospitals, who took part in the celebrations spoke on the prevalence of Congenital Heart Disease in India vis-à-vis the developed countries and stressed the need to create awareness among people that the Congenital Heart Disease is curable.

“Congenital Heart disease in a child is not the end of the world. This is a treatable condition with excellent success rate, the children present here today of all ages are a testament to this fact.” Dr Devananda, Pediatric, Cardiac Surgeon Wockhardt Hospitals

“Today, India has the expertise and the knowledge to treat this condition, however there are two major obstacles we need to overcome that is that lack of awareness of the disease and the non availability of finance as insurance companies in India do not cover pre-existing diseases” he added.

Magic shows, caricature, face-painting, interactive games and competitions enthralled the children who were eager to participate, adding to the happiness and joy of this special occasion.

But these were not your regular kids. All of them had suffered from life-threatening heart problems , at some point or the other and had gone through complicated surgeries at the Bannerghata Road,hospital at Bangalore.

"It was great to see these children doing so well and enjoying themselves at Children's Day. Seeing them so happy, no one would have guessed that they were suffering from fatal heart problem at one time," said Dr Devananda, pediatric cardiac surgeon.

The "reunion" party was as emotional for the families as it was for the doctors. And in between the celebrations, the parents recalled those difficult times when they were scared about their children safety.

Deepak Singh, father of Vikram Singh, who had a serious heart disease, said, "We had to take him to the hospital daily for checkups and after a lots of tests, we got to know that he had a hole in his heart. Those were the most difficult times of our life. But now that he is healthy, I have no words to explain how happy we feel."

A magic show, dance programmes and many other interactive sessions made the day special for the children. The enthusiasm of the kids soon inspired the adults too as many of them joined the little ones in the buoyant celebrations and some even shook a leg.

"Apart from the fun that we had, this event was a great platform to spread awareness about heart ailments. Also, families, which had gone through similar trauma, were brought together and the sharing of their knowledge and experiences, made the event a memorable one," said Dr Devananda.

He went on to add, "India, today, has the expertise and the knowledge to treat heart ailments, but we face two major obstacles. One is the lack of awareness and second is the non-availability of finance as insurance companies in India do not cover pre-existing diseases. We need to look into these issues now."

Prof. Dr. C.V Harinarayan, Chief Consultant Endocrinologist, Specialist in Metabolic Bone Disease and Osteoporosis, Wockhardt Hospitals,Bangalore has been conferred the prestigious Fellow of Academy of Medical Sciences (FAMS) degree for his outstanding contribution in the field of metabolic bone diseases.

Prof. Dr. C.V Harinarayan through his work on metabolic bone disease has documented through extensive population surveys, the high prevalence of low dietary calcium intake and varying degrees of Vitamin D deficiency in South India. His groundbreaking work could potentially contribute to revision of national guidelines of dietary allowances for calcium and Vitamin D.

The FAMS degree is one of the highest and most coveted hallmarks of distinction in the medical profession given for original academic work in India.

Prof. Dr. Harinarayan M.D. (Int. Med.), D.M. (Endocrinology)has completed his DM in Endocrinology from AIIMS, New Delhi. He has many National and International awards to his credit. Prof. Harinarayan is an excellent clinician, accomplished researcher and scientist, with over two decades of experience. He is specialized in Endocrinology, Diabetes, Thyroid and Metabolic Bone Diseases. He has won several laurels for demonstrating wide prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency, as the predominant cause for radiological bone changes in Primary Hyperparathyroidism in India.

India accounts for the largest number of diabetic patients in the world with approximately 56 million people affected and the number is set to grow to 900 million over the next 20 years i.e. 9% of the countries population. This disturbing trend has set alarm bells ringing as a large population of India still does not have access to basic health care needs. Unlike other diseases diabetics lasts for a lifetime leading to many other complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, damaged arteries to name a few. Studies have estimated that two out of three diabetic patients are likely to die of heart disease or stroke.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the human body fails to produce enough insulin or when there is disruption in the process of insulin circulation. Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas that enables cells to utilize glucose and convert it into energy. Most of the food we eat is converted into glucose (a from of sugar) and dispersed in the blood stream to be used as energy. In the absence of insulin the cells in the body are deprived of energy and begin to starve. Consequently glucose levels rise in the blood stream leading to several other disabilities.

High blood sugar over a period of time leads to damaged nerves and blood vessels. There is hardening of the blood vessels and increased deposit of cholesterol on their walls – a process termed as atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis can lead to narrowing of blood vessels with increased tendency of blood clot formation. The narrowing of blood vessels and the formation of blood clots are the leading causes of heart disease and stroke.

• Since diabetes is a chronic disease that can only be controlled, it is very important to stick to the advice given by the doctor and to take your daily dose of medication at the right times. Go for regular check ups and monitor your blood pressure and blood sugar regularly.

• Quit smoking: it could be the worst thing for you

Most of us today avoid a visit to a doctor or a hospital specially if it interrupts with our working hours. We felt that there was a genuine need to adjust our timings so that we can accommodate our visitors who could not visit us due to their work timings

We have decided to extend our timings to introduce "Sunet Clinic" which will be open from 5pm-7pm. You can call 6636666 for appointments or email us at enquiries@wockhardthospitals.net