Dr Chandrashekhar Kulkarni, CVTS Surgeon And Heart And Lung Transplant Surgeon Mumbai successfully performed a complex minimally invasive cardiac surgery on a 34-year Yemeni woman giving her a fresh lease of life at Global Hospital. The woman was diagnosed with a benign cardiac tumour which recently had grown in size to reach 6 cms thus endangering her life.
Patients with cardiac tumors have non-specific symptoms similar to many other common cardiovascular conditions, including breathing problems and chest pain. Cardiac tumours are most commonly diagnosed on echocardiogram. Surgeries are usually rcommended immediately after a diagnosis of the cardiac tumour, as it may lead to life-threatening events such as stroke and heart failure. Though cardiac tumours are extremely rare, they must be diagnosed and treated in time to prevent life-threatening events.
Afina, a resident of Yemen, was experiencing severe breathing problems while doing everyday activities such as walking or working. On investigating, she was diagnosed with a life-threatening cardiac tumor. The doctor suggested surgery to remove the tumour, but as the risk was extremely high, none of the doctors in Yemen were willing to perform the surgery. When she reached out to Global Hospitals, Mumbai, Parel, a teleconsultation was enabled between the patient, treating doctor in Yemen and specialists at Global hospital. After an extensive evaluation and counselling via teleconsultation, the patient and her family were convinved that she would get the right treatment at Global Hospital, Mumbai. In Novemeber she travelled from Yemen to Global hospital, Mumbai, with the hope of cure to get a new life.
Dr Chandrashekhar Kulkarni, CVTS Surgeon And Heart And Lung Transplant Surgeon At Global Hospital,Parel, Mumbai said “The 2D echo done revealed a large tumour of 6 cm inside the heart. Due to the size of tumor doing a traditional open heart surgery was considered extremely risky. After getting due high risk consents, and discussion between Cardiologist & CVTS surgeon, it was decided to use the Minimally Invasive Thoracotomy route to do the surgery. The patient successfully underwent the MICS and benefitted with faster recovery, less scarring and major post-operative complications.”
Dr. Kulkarni explained that the surgery was challenging due to size of the tumur. It was necessary to remove the tumour completely as any bit left behind could lead to major complications. We successfully removed the tumour with just a 8 cm incision.”
