Andhra Pradesh: Advanced patient care services kick-starts at AIIMS Mangalagiri

According to an official release from AIIMS Mangalagiri, the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS) successfully initiated the open cardiac surgery program for the first time on April 12 with the mentorship and able guidance of AIIMS New Delhi.

As per the release, four open-heart surgeries were performed, covering congenital heart defects and valvular heart diseases.

In the first case, two women patients aged 34 and 44 who were born with congenital heart disease i.e. large defect between two upper chambers of the heart causing significant symptoms like shortness of breath and palpitations due to long standing significant overload on heart and lungs, underwent open heart surgery and the defect was successfully closed making it two seperate chambers alleviating their symptoms.

In the second case, a 46-year-old woman suffering from a congenital cardiac anomaly in which a defect is present between two chambers of the heart, along with an anomalous location of major vessels coming from the lungs, causing strain on the lungs, underwent open heart surgery with closure of the defect and successful repair of the anomalous pulmonary veins.

In the third case, a 50-year-old woman who had damage to the heart valves due to infection in childhood (rheumatic heart disease with mitral valve stenosis) came to us with chest pain and shortness of breath.

On evaluation, it was found that there was evidence of infection on the diseased heart valve (infective endocarditis), causing it to stenose and malfunction. She underwent replacement of the diseased valve with a prosthetic valve, causing significant improvement in her symptoms.

The patient is being treated for the heart infection and is expected to make a full recovery, which will give her a new lease of life. All the above patients are doing well post-surgery.

In the fourth case, a 63-year-old female who has been suffering from bilateral progressive severe knee pain for 5 years presented with severe functional disability and was unable to carry out her day-to-day activities was suffering extreme pain.

She was diagnosed with bilateral severe Osteoarthritis knee for which she was operated with conventional total knee arthroplasty or total knee replacement on the right side sometime back at AIIMS and now on April 11, for the first time in the institute, Primary Robotic assisted total knee arthroplasty (total knee replacement) one the left side was performed marking a significant advancement in delivery of patient care services. Robotic-assisted total knee replacement is advantageous over conventional surgery because it provides enhanced precision in bony cuts, accurate alignment and implant placement, minimal invasiveness, reduced soft tissue injuries, lesser blood loss, faster recovery, and potentially longer implant life.

It also had the advantage of aiding the surgeon to accurately quantify numerically the amount of bone cut and soft tissue balancing.

The patient has recovered well and is able to walk with minimal pain and without deformity. She is on regular physiotherapy protocols for optimal functional recovery.

Executive Director and CEO Professor Dr Ahanthem Santa Singh inaugurated the Intensive Cardiac Care Unit (ICCU) on April 7 to provide advanced life-saving cardiac care to patients at AIIMS Mangalagiri.

The ICCU is fully equipped to enhance the institute's cardiac critical care capacity. It includes high-end cardiac monitoring, ventilatory support systems, and resuscitative infrastructure, ensuring 24/7 care for patients with acute cardiac illnesses.

This enables the institute to serve a huge number of patients suffering from cardiac illnesses in the state of Andhra Pradesh and surrounding regions. These landmark developments reaffirm AIIMS Mangalagiri's commitment to advancing high-quality, multidisciplinary healthcare in the region, supported by state-of-the-art technology and collaborative academic mentorship.

The institute expresses sincere gratitude to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, for its continued guidance and unwavering support.