For the first time in the country, a government hospital conducted an invasive cardiac surgery on Sunday.
A team of 10 doctors headed by Dr Ashraful Hoque Siam at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD)conducted the operation of a 12-year-old girl.
“We carried out the surgery of Nupur with full anesthesia which took two and a half hours,” Dr Siam, said adding that the cost of the operation was only Tk 5,000.
Professor and Chief Cardiac Surgeon of the National Heart Foundation Dr Farooque Ahmed and Dr Prasanta Kumar Chanda of the National Heart Foundation were present, he said.
“The condition of Nupur is now stable and we will discharge her from the hospital after two to three days of observation,” Dr Siam said.
Nupur was a patient of Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) — a hole in the wall between the two upper chambers of heart.
Dr Siam said the NICVD would operate this kind of surgery regularly as the essential instruments are available at the hospital, training up other surgeons.
He said that the National Heart Foundation, a private hospital, first conducted such a surgery in the country.
“The hospital usually charges Tk 250,000 to Tk 300,000 for conducting such an operation,” he further said.
Dr Siam thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for allocating special budget to the NICVD for importing the instruments, BSS reports.
In a minimally invasive cardiac operation, surgeons perform heart surgery through small incisions in the chest as an alternative to open-heart surgery.
Surgeons do not cut through the breastbone, rather they operate between the ribs, likely resulting in a less pain and a quicker recovery for many people.