Kerala hospital brings cosmetic heart surgery for children to India

Kochi, Jan 2017:

For the first time in India, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre in Kochi, Kerala, has introduced cosmetic heart surgery for children – a procedure that has gained popularity in Europe over the past decade.

Cosmetic heart surgery is 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 cosmetic heart surgery, 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 that the incision is not visible either from the front or from the back, no major chest muscles are cut, and hence the child has no long-term functional problems”, said Dr. Brijesh P. Kottayil, at the hospital.

He explained" “No bones are cut and hence recovery is fast. The incision is kept to less than 5cms and hence cosmetically appealing. Finally, even if the child undresses fully, the scar is not visible in normal posture.”

Dr. Brijesh said that Amrita Institute is the first hospital in India to embrace the concept of cosmetic paediatric heart surgery.

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.

Six children have successfully undergone this procedure already.

Dr. Brijesh said that the hospital will shortly incorporate robotic assistance in cosmetic heart surgery for children.