The two-and-a-half-hour operation took place on Friday in Care Hospital in Hyderabad. Chief cardiac surgeon Dr Prateek Bhatnagar, who led the team of doctors, claimed it was the first 'fully-awake' coronary arterial bypass operation performed in India.
Only local anesthesia near the spinal cord was administered before the operation. "Due to the thoracic epidural anesthesia, the patient feels no pain for about two days. It helps him recover quickly," The Times of India quoted Dr Bhatnagar as saying.
Janardhan Reddy, the patient, had critical blocks in his coronary artery that reduced the blood flow to the heart by 35 per cent.
There were other problems in his lungs since he was a chain smoker, the Times of India report said. Patient recovers quicker in beating-heart surgery compared to normal bypass surgery.
The beating-heart surgery is performed under general anaesthesia and the patient is supported by a ventilator. "Globally, this a new technique being followed as it avoids the risk of ventilator as well as complications arising out of general anaesthesia,"
The Times of India quoted Dr Sunil Kapoor, chief of cardiology of Care Hospital as saying. Janardhan Reddy had a normal meal four hours after the operation.
