Kochi (ISJ) ? For the first time in India, a Kerala hospital has introduced cosmetic heart surgery for children ? a procedure that gained popularity in select European countries during the last several years.
Cosmetic heart surgery means, cardiac surgery with an alternative approach through minimally invasive procedure. Conventional heart surgery is done by a vertical incision in the chest by cutting the sternum, i.e., centre of the chest below neck till abdomen, to approach the heart.� In this case, simple heart surgeries for children are done by a new technique called ?Trans-axillary minimally invasive paediatric cardiac surgery? ? through a small vertical incision made below the right axilla or armpit.
?The advantage of this advanced surgical procedure is, the incision is not visible either �from the front or from back, no major chest muscles are cut and hence the child has no long-term functional problems. No bones are cut and hence recovery is fast. The incision is kept to less than 5 cms and hence cosmetically appealing and finally even if the child undresses fully, the scar is not visible in normal posture,? said Dr. Brijesh P. Kottayil, Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre, Kochi.
Dr. Brijesh said, Amrita Institute is the first hospital in India to embrace the concept of cosmetic paediatric heart surgery. Earlier, simple heart surgeries were done in children through an incision behind the body, just below the right shoulder blade. During the last 18 years, the Institute has done the largest number of such surgeries, more than 700. In this case, the scar is visible only from the back.
The present approach is more cosmetically appealing, has the potential to speed up patient recovery and reduce the lifelong psychological trauma from a visible surgical scar. Already six children have successfully undergone this procedure. �Dr. Brijesh said, the hospital will incorporate robotic assistance in cosmetic heart surgery for children shortly.
