Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery in India: Cardiac Care at a Comparative Cost for Abroad Medical Tourists

Coronary artery bypass surgery in India is giving new life to many international patients and are getting cardiac care at a comparative cost. Medical tourism is doing a great job of saving life of many of the medical tourists in India. Medical tourists coming here are getting quality treatment here and also world class lodging facilities. The act of patients going to different countries for either urgent or medical procedures is known as Medical Tourism. Medical Tourism is a new concept used to represent obtaining medical or surgical services while traveling and vacationing in other countries... It is a recent entrant into medical tourism. According to a study by McKinsey and the Confederation of Indian Industry, medical tourism could become a $1 billion business by 2012. Price advantage is a major selling point. The slogan, thus is, "First World treatment' at Third World prices". The cost differential across the board is huge: only a tenth and sometimes even a sixteenth of the cost in the West. The most important country promoting medical tourism for coronary artery bypass surgery is India. What is coronary artery bypass surgery? Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease. Arteries or veins from elsewhere in the patient's body are grafted to the coronary arteries to bypass atherosclerotc narrowings and improve the blood supply to the coronary circulation supplying the myocardium (heart muscle). This surgery is usually performed with the heart stopped, necessitating the usage of cardiopulmonary bypass; techniques are available to perform CABG on a beating heart, so-called "off-pump" surgery. Let’s look on to the procedure of coronary artery bypass surgery: In this procedure an anaesthetist places a variety of intravenous lines and injects an anduction agent to render the person unconscious. An endotracheal tube is inserted and secured by the anesthetist or assistant (e.g. respiratory therapist or nurse anesthetist) and mechanical ventilation is started. The chest is opened via a median sternotomy and the heart is examined by the surgeon. The bypass grafts are harvested - frequent conduits are the internal thoracic arteries, radial arteries and saphenous veins. When harvesting is done, the patient is given heparin to prevent the blood from clotting. In the case of "off-pump" surgery, the surgeon places devices to stabilize the heart. If the case is "on-pump", the surgeon sutures cannulae into the heart and instructs the perfusionist to start cardiopulmonar bypass (CPB). Once CPB is established, the surgeon places the aortic cross-clamp across the aorta and instructs the perfusionist to deliver cardioplegia to stop the heart. One end of each graft is sewn onto the coronary arteries beyond the blockages and the other end is attached to the aorta. The heart is restarted; or in "off-pump" surgery, the stabilizing devices are removed. In some cases, the Aorta is partially occluded by a C shaped clamp, the heart is restarted and suturing of the grafts to the aorta is done in this partially occluded section of the aorta while the heart is beating. One end of each graft is sewn onto the coronary arteries beyond the blockages and the other end is attached to the aorta. Protamine is given to reverse the effects of heparin The sternum is wired together and the incisions are sutured closed. The person is moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) to recover. After awakening and stabilizing in the ICU (approximately 1 day), the person is transferred to the cardiac surgery ward until ready to go home (approximately 4 days). Precautions to be taken by the patient undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery : Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery will have to avoid certain things to avoid opening the incision. These are called sternal precautions. First, patients need to avoid using their arms excessively, such as pushing themselves out of a chair or reaching back before sitting down. To avoid this, patients are encouraged to build up momentum by rocking several times in their chair before standing up. Second, patients should avoid lifting anything in excess of 5-10 pounds. A gallon of milk weighs approximately 8.5 pounds, and is a good reference point for weight limitations. Finally, patients should avoid overhead activities with their hands, such as reaching for sweaters from the top shelf of a closet or reaching for plates or cups from the cupboard. The coronary artery bypass surgery in India is becoming widely accepted nowadays. India have a lot of hospitals offering world class treatments in nearly every medical sector such as cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery, joint replacement, orthopedic surgery, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, transplants and urology to name a few. Also the hospitals here are having team of well trained cardiac surgeons from US and UK and are having well trained staff that can easily handle any of the situation. The international patients coming from abroad are getting relaxed and friendly atmosphere here that helps them to freely discuss their case with Indian doctors without any hesitation. This helps the doctors to know each and every aspect of the case well and avoid complications. Coronary artery bypass surgery is available at Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai at world class hospitals. To know more about coronary artery bypass surgery visit at http://www.indianhealthguru.com or Mail at contact@ iianhealthguru.com

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