A labourer Lakshman Nayak (37) from Mandya district had developed swelling in the aorta which had damaged his three ribs and had started affecting the backbone as well. For the past six months, the patient was complaining of intense pain in the chest and in the back. When the patient landed in the hospital, a thorough medical examination was conducted. Subsequently the swelling in the aorta and the damage to the ribs were noticed, which in medical term is defined as aortic aneurysm.
Taking the case on a priority basis, it was decided that a surgery should be performed. But the person coming from a poor family was not in a position to bear the expenses. The cost of such surgery is usually around Rs 2.5 lakh. In this regard, the patient met the Governor and on his instruction he was admitted to the hospital. An amount of Rs 25,000 was released for his treatment from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Positive response
The Director of the Jayadeva Hospital Dr C N Manjunath said such operations were performed successfully only in AIIMS. He added that in majority of cases, functioning of leg gets affected as an impact of the surgery but here the patient was responding quite positively.
The biggest challenge before the medical team was the replacement of ribs with artificial one, yet it was performed under the leadership of Dr P S Seetharam Bhat, professor of surgery who decided to conduct surgery of heart as well as the ribs.
On March 14, Dr Seetharam Bhat and Dr Madhusoodan of Apollo Hospital conducted the surgery. However, with the help of Dr Murali Babu, Dr Syed Murthad, AM Jagadish and Dr C N Manjunath the artificial ribs were transplanted successfully.
