Gandhinagar, Kottayam:
Kottayam Medical College has achieved a rare medical milestone by successfully performing complex heart-lung surgeries on two critically ill patients after lowering their body temperature to 18 degrees Celsius. The surgeries were led by Dr. T.K. Jayakumar, Head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, along with his expert medical team.
Both patients have recovered well and regained full health. While such surgeries may cost more than ₹40 lakh in private hospitals, the procedures at Kottayam Medical College were completed at a cost of around ₹2 lakh.
The first surgery was performed on a patient who had a tear in the aorta, the major blood vessel carrying blood from the heart. The patient’s life was at serious risk due to excessive bleeding. The medical team first cooled the patient’s body to slow down the heart’s function. After connecting the patient to a heart-lung machine, the team replaced the initial part of the aorta, the adjoining valve, and the aortic arch. Performing three major replacements in a single surgery is considered a rare achievement.
The second patient, K.C. Raju, had a serious condition in which the aortic arch was attached to the lung. The affected portion had developed into an aneurysm, a dangerous swelling that could burst at any time. The patient was in a highly critical condition. During the surgery, doctors replaced the aortic arch and removed the infected portion of the lung. This is also considered an extremely rare procedure in Kerala.
Each surgery took around six hours. In both cases, the heart function was slowed down for nearly one hour to allow the surgeons to complete the most critical parts of the operation safely.
Along with Dr. T.K. Jayakumar, the surgical team included Dr. C.H. Nidheesh, Dr. Aravind P. Raman, Dr. Smartin Abraham, Dr. B. Manoop, Dr. R. Shiva, Dr. Kishore, Dr. Jeevan, Dr. Chaithanya Krishna, Dr. P. John, and Dr. R. Sajith. From the anaesthesia department, Dr. Manjusha N. Pillai and Dr. Sanjeev Thampi were also part of the team.
What Is This Body-Cooling Technique?
The technique used in these surgeries is known as hypothermia with total circulatory arrest. In this method, the patient’s body temperature is reduced to around 18 degrees Celsius. At this stage, the heart and lungs almost completely stop functioning, and their work is taken over by a heart-lung machine.
This gives doctors a limited window of time, usually up to one hour, to complete the most important surgical steps involving the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels. The success of these procedures marks a major achievement for Kottayam Medical College and Kerala’s public healthcare system.
