55-year old Pawan Agarwal, a resident of Ludhiana, had been suffering from diabetes, for about two decades, but in August 2012, he started experiencing severe palpitation. Upon examination by a cardiologist in Ludhiana, he was told that he was not fit for either an angioplasty or bypass surgery, as he had two 90 per cent blockages and one 100 per cent damaged artery.
Then, he approached Dr Ramakant Panda who had earlier done a by-pass surgery for him around 17 years ago. Says Dr Panda,”Pawan Agarwal had triple vessel coronary artery disease at a very advanced stage. He couldn’t even walk 500 metres without palpitation and reported severe left arm pain, which was increasing progressively. I was more worried because not only was one artery completely damaged and 100 per cent dysfunctional, but I could see 10 blockages. Also, normally the coronary artery that takes pure blood back to the heart for its own function is about two millimetres in diameter, in his case, it was just about one millimetre in diameter.”
Pawan Agarwal was admitted to The Asian Heart Institute on August 16, 2012 and he underwent an unheard of 10 by-pass grafts and arterial cleansing procedure (Endartectomy) over an eight-hour procedure. His condition was so delicate that a cardiac arrest could have happened to him any moment, as the blockages were severe and restrictive. The left and right mammary arteries were used to by-pass the 10 blockages and the blood supply to the heart was reconstructed painstakingly by the team at Asian Heart Institute. The operation was successful and he was literally given a second lease of life. The patient is doing very well now.
EH News Bureau