Asiri Surgical performs country’s first dextrocardiac surgery

The Asiri Group of Hospitals, which has a history of introducing several ‘firsts’ to Sri Lanka’s healthcare sector, recently announced the successful completion of the country’s first dextrocardia surgery that was performed at Asiri Surgical using the ‘Minimally Invasive Coronary Surgery’ method.

The team at the ‘Asiri Heart Centre,’ with the expertise of Senior Consultant and Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. Vivek Gupta, undertook the courageous task of seeing B.Y. Jinadasa of Hettipola, a victim of Dextrocardia, to a sound recovery.

“I’m ever grateful to Asiri Surgical for giving me a second chance in life, as all of my other options failed to provide any sort of hope of being restored back to full health. After realising the abnormal positioning of my heart and organs due to the sudden heart attack I experienced recently, I was advised that it carried major risks. Although my chances of survival seemed very slim, I was recommended to Dr. Gupta at Asiri Surgical and thanks to him and his dedicated staff, I was able to recover within four days and get back to my life,” Jinadasa testified on his complete recovery from Dextrocardia.

Dextrocardia, scientifically called ‘dextrocardiasitusinversus’ is a congenital condition in which the heart is located on the right side of the chest which also causes the other organs of the body to be located on the opposite side. While the cause of dextrocardia is unknown it is believed to occur in approximately 1 in 12,000 people.

Performing a Minimally Invasive Coronary Surgery in a Dextrocardiac situation, involves a procedure of an incision of about 2 to 3 inches, instead of the 8 to 10 inch incision required for traditional heart bypass operations. This technique requires specialised surgical instruments such as fibre optics, cameras and robotic technology that provides cardiac surgery with the necessary tools to progress to less invasive approaches, which only Asiri Surgical has been able to make available in Sri Lanka. 

Speaking on the increasing demand for minimally invasive surgeries Dr. Gupta stated, “Today, there is an immense demand for this surgery as many people try to avoid further complications which could occur after conventional Coronary Arterial Bypass Grafting. We have invested heavily on specialised surgical instruments and educating surgeons and I’m proud to state that Asiri Surgical is the only hospital in Sri Lanka that is fully equipped with the right equipment and expertise to perform this surgery.”

Dr. Gupta, who counts many years of experience conducting over 8,000 bypasses of which 2,500 were performed in Sri Lanka, also has a success rate of over 50 Minimally Invasive Coronary Surgeries in the country with no result of mortality.

Minimally Invasive Surgeries have proven to deliver many benefits such as overcoming multiple blocks, less trauma to the skin, bone and muscle while patients can avoid the visibility of any sort of surgical scars or wounds on the chest area. It also lowers the risk of post-surgery infection and bleeding while ensuring a shorter recovery time with a promise of a quick return to normal activities. This relatively new technique has been in existence for the past five years and has only been conducted in a few centres around the world.