Karnataka Coastal Region’s FIRST Awake Lung Surgery done at A J Hospital
Mangaluru : It’s been 17 years since AJ Hospital & Research Centre, Mangaluru was established and is the leading referral center in and around Mangalur for all cardiac as well as thoracic ailments. AJ Hospital has achieved many milestones by conducting various rare
surgeries and procedures.
28 year old Male from Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada District was admitted in AJ Hospital with complaints of breathlessness and weakness in the lower limbs under the care of pulmonologists. After thorough investigation he was found to have Loculated Empyema with thickened pleura (collapsed lung) and neurological condition called severe demyelinating polyneuropathy with autonomic dysfunction.
Condition of the patient required immediate surgery without which he would have developed life threatening respiratory failure. He successfully underwent open Awake Thoracic (Lung) Surgery (ATS) under regional anaesthesia, performed by Consultant Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon Dr. Sambhram Shetty H S & ably supported by Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. Jayashankar Marla and team of Consultant cardiac anesthetist Dr. Gururaj Tantry & intensivist Dr. Suhas M K.
The surgery & anaesthesia was complex in view of the fact that patient was not suitable for general anaesthesia because of his neurological condition and it required quick and precise surgical intervention as Awake Thoracic (Lung) Surgery (ATS) poses its own problems, which can cause life threatening hemodynamic changes. Our team successfully managed the case by technique of Awake Thoracic (Lung) Surgery (ATS) being rarely used in context of cardiothoracic anaesthesia.
Post-surgery hospital stay was uneventful and patient is discharged in stable condition.