Man with blocked heart arteries undergoes high-risk bypass surgery

Gurgaon: A 43-year-old man, who was suffering from blockage in all three major arteries of his heart, has received a new lease of life after undergoing a “high-risk bypass surgery” at a leading hospital here, doctors said on Monday.

The patient was admitted in a “critical condition” with complaints of chest pain on exertion, they said.

“Detailed medical evaluation revealed that all the three major arteries of his heart were blocked with the main artery LAD (left anterior descending) which supplies around 70-75 percent of blood to the heart 100 percent blocked. His right artery was also 100 percent blocked with reduced heart function (25-30 percent),” Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) said in a statement.  The patient was “successfully treated” recently at the hospital via “high-risk bypass surgery,” it said.

A team of doctors, led by Dr Udgeath Dhir, Director and Head of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS), FMRI, managed the case through a high-risk bypass surgery where the blockage and calcium deposits from the arteries of the heart were removed, and a new artery was created, the statement said.

“The patient was young with no other comorbidities, and was an occasional smoker, had no strong family history of any cardiac disease. Owing to the multiple blockages in the arteries, his heart function had already reduced to 25 percent. Any further delay in treatment could have reduced his chances of survival,” Dhir said.

Considering the high risk, doctors proceeded with a bypass surgery on a beating heart with a novel technique – LAD/endarterectomy (surgical removal of part of the inner lining of an artery, together with any obstructive deposits), the statement said.

“This was a high-risk surgery considering the aggressiveness and complexity of the heart blockage. The surgery went off well, the patient had an uneventful post-operation course and within 6 weeks, his heart function had recovered to 40-45 percent. The patient was able to stand on his own on the third day, after surgery. He has resumed a normal life doing his regular activities – office work, climbing stairs etc,” Dhir said.

Youngsters with a poor lifestyle can suffer from critical heart blockage. Hence, it is crucial to get regular health checkups, he added.

“There is a widespread notion that bypass surgeries are unsafe. However, this is untrue, bypass surgeries are much safer than hernia and gallbladder surgeries which increase the longevity of the patient,” the doctor said.