MKCG Medical College Hospital Restarts Open-Heart Surgery After 3 Decades

Berhampur: MKCG Medical College and Hospital (MCH) in Berhampur has resumed open-heart surgeries after a long wait of 36 years. The breakthrough marks a major milestone for the institution and offers a new hope to patients with serious cardiac conditions across Odisha. 

The breakthrough came on Wednesday when a 26-year-old woman became the first patient in over three decades to undergo an open-heart procedure at the facility. According to the news reports, the patient, who had a congenital defect—a small hole in her heart—underwent a successful three-hour surgery. She is currently under close medical supervision in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and remains on ventilator support.

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The last time such surgeries were conducted at MKCG MCH was in 1990 by surgeons Dr. Suresh Mishra and Dr. Sachi Mishra. Since then, despite having the necessary surgical infrastructure, open-heart procedures had been stalled due to the absence of a trained perfusionist—a specialist required to operate the heart-lung machine during cardiac surgeries.

This long-standing challenge was recently overcome when the Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET) deputed a qualified perfusionist from SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack to MKCG MCH. The perfusionist joined two weeks ago, enabling the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS) department to finally become fully operational.

The CTVS department, located on the fifth floor of the multi-speciality PMSSY block, was established nearly five years ago. It houses modern equipment, including a state-of-the-art heart-lung machine essential for conducting complex cardiac surgeries.

MKCG MCH, the primary referral hospital for the southern districts of Odisha, has long witnessed a steady influx of cardiac patients. However, due to the absence of open-heart surgery capabilities, many had to be referred to hospitals in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, or even Visakhapatnam.

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Speaking to TNIE, Dr Sarada Prasanna Sahu, associate professor and head of the CTVS department, said, “We had the infrastructure, but lacked expert handling of the machinery. With the perfusionist now available, the problem has been resolved”.

In recent months, the CTVS team has already handled high-risk thoracic surgeries, including the removal of a knife embedded in a man’s chest and the extraction of an arrow dangerously close to another patient's heart.

With the reinstatement of cardiac surgery services, the hospital has already shortlisted four more patients for upcoming open-heart procedures.