By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: In an unprecedented medical achievement, the cardiac surgeons of North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences have successfully closed a hole in the beating heart of a 20-year -old college student from Manipur after an open heart operation held at NEIGRIHMS on Monday .
According to NEIGRIHMS, it is for the first time “beating heart open heart repair of Atrial Septal Defect” was conducted in the North-eastern region.
Atrial Septal Defect is a congenital heart defect that results in blood flow between two compartments of the heart, the left and right atria.
In normal situation, the left and right atria are separated by a septum known as inter trial septum.
The girl had a hole in her heart from her birth and was facing difficulties in her heart on that account. She got relieved of this problem on Monday once she underwent the open heart surgery at the institute.
According to NEIGRIHMS sources, the blood from left side of the heart was crossing over to the right side of the heart adding to the burden of the working of the right heart and lungs of the patient. The patient underwent a cosmetic open heart surgery through her right chest.
The beating heart operation marks another milestone in the history of NEIGRIHMS and is likely to open a new chapter for similar ventures in the Northeastern Region, besides adding to the teaching and training of other doctors in the Department of Cardio Thoracic & Vascular Surgery ( CTVS) and Cardiology as well as Anaesthesiology and critical care medicine.
This type of cosmetic surgery will not leave any visible scar on the patient that would otherwise mean a good and prosperous future for the patient at the same time.
Interestingly, Dr. AG Ahangar, Director, NEIGRIHMS, led the team of doctors- Dr. P. Bhattacharyya, Dr. Manuj K. Saikia, Dr. Mohd Yunus and Dr. M. Kapoor in this successful surgery. The Director has opened a new chapter by leading from the front towards this goal of optimum medi care to the poor, down trodden and neglected sections of the society.
Dr Ahangar has expressed his satisfaction after the surgery.
Dr Ahangar since he assumed charge, has been laying emphasis on the innovations and newer techniques and the conduct of various procedures at NEIGRIHMS, be it open heart surgery or Percutaneous Cardiac Interventions or Radiological interventions.
He has been stressing on uplift of the academic and the research atmosphere at NEIGRIHMS by incorporating various workshops/seminars aimed at organising some awareness-cum service camps for various surgical divisions to begin with so that the masses in general in the region are benefited from the prestigious institution.