Doctors take scar-less way to woman’s heart

Denise Ireland, 41, was worried about the hole in her heart, but more about the prominent scar an open-heart surgery would result in, writes Rhythma Kaul. Doctors take scar-less way to woman’s heart

Denise Ireland, 41, was worried about the hole in her heart, but more about the prominent scar an open-heart surgery would result in.

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But two weeks ago, the 2cm x 2cm hole was plugged through an ingenious procedure that has left Denise not only hale but also happy.

Instead of open-heart surgery, which would have left an ugly scar running down Denise’s chest, surgeons at Gurgaon’s Artemis Hospital employed a ‘keyhole’ or port-access surgery.

Surgeons Kushagra Kataria and Hassan Tehrani led the team that did the surgery through two small incisions — a 6-incher under the right breast and a 3-incher on the bikini-line, about two inches lower than usual.

Denise, no doubt, is thrilled. “The fact that I won’t have to live with a scar down my chest for the rest of my life is such a relief,” she says, adding, “I already carry two scars from the caesarean births of my children, so I could do without additional scarring.”

Regarding the technique, Dr Ashok Seth, director, Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, says, “This is an interesting variation of keyhole surgery done through two incisions in the chest and the abdomen. It is a safe and accepted procedure.”

The technique has been employed at Escorts since 2004 and at All India Institute of Medical Sciences for over a decade.