Dubai: In a landmark surgery that took place for the first time in Dubai, Dr Girish Chandra Varma, Head of the Cardiac Surgery Unit of the NMC Specialty Hospital, excised an aneurysm in the ascending aorta and aortic root of a 45-year-old Dubai executive’s heart by Bentall procedure and performed a beating heart coronary bypass surgery, off pump, in the same patient.
“The patient was having chest pain while lifting his child and an angiography indicated that he had an aneurysm (excessive localised swelling) in the aortic root and in the ascending aorta. This is a rare idiopathic condition where the swelling exerts pressure on the heart, also the angiogram revealed an 100% blocked main coronary artery,” Dr Varma told Gulf News.
In fact, the swelling had displaced the coronary arteries leading to the aorta and the aortic valve was leaking.
The surgeon conducted twin surgeries to correct the situation.
First, Dr Varma conducted the bypass surgery for the 100 per cent blockage, on a beating heart, off pump by using the left internal mammary artery. In the second procedure, Dr Varma put the patient on to the heart-lung machine, stopped the heart, isolated the diseased segment and excised the malfunctioning aortic valve and sutured a metallic valve with a composite conduit.
He used a special Dacron graft to replace the diseased aorta.
Then Dr Varma reimplanted both right and left coronary artery buttons on to the Dacron conduit.
“This is the internationally practised Bentall’s procedure and after the procedure the entire heart has to de-aired and the blood is released back very slowly,” explained Dr Varma, who is the only surgeon in Dubai to conduct awake heart surgeries.
The Bentall’s procedure to replace the diseased aorta with a Dacron graft along with coronary bypass surgery is his first in Dubai although he has done this procedure before.
With this elaborate surgery the patient will be able to resume his normal life as the valve and the graft have a lifetime warranty.