Rare heart, brain vessels surgery

The surgery was performed on a 59-year-old patient who had come to Bangalore from Delhi on an official visit and suffered a heart attack.

The patient was immediately admitted to Suguna Hospital, where investigations revealed that he had 95 per cent block in the Innominate artery (main blood vessel to the heart) and 100 per cent block in the Left Internal carotid artery (blood vessel supplying to left side of brain).

“A temporary shunt was created between the aorta and an artery beyond the Innominate artery,” said Dr Satish Govindaiah, senior cardiac surgeon. The block in the Innominate artery was removed and the blood supply to the brain was restored. The next step was to revive the heart by performing three bypass grafts.

“It presented a unique challenge as the heart and the blood vessels to the brain had to be dealt with simultaneously. There was a high risk to life and also chance of a major stroke was imminent,” he said. The double surgery lasted for six hours. The patient is stable without any neurological problems. Suguna Hospital located in Rajajinagar 4th Block is a 150-bed super specialty hospital.