The Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery functions as two units. Unit I provides all the cardiac surgical services and Unit II provides Thoracic and Vascular Surgical services. This department provides services to people of Pondicherry and adjoining districts of Tamil Nadu. The Department was established in 2008 and about 700 cardiac surgeries have been performed till date. Thoracic and Vascular Surgical unit is specialized in performing AV access procedures, Endovascular procedures for peripheral vascular diseases, Treatment of Venous Ulcers, Hybrid Surgery for arterial disorders and also provides VATS (Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery) as well as open surgery for Varied Thoracic Pathologies. We perform all cardiac surgeries including elective or emergency surgeries for heart valve disease, coronary artery disease, Adult congenital heart disease and aortic disease by our team of surgeons. Eligible patients are operated free of cost under Medical Insurance Scheme of the Tamil Nadu Government. The surgical outcome is excellent with efficient Anesthetists, highly trained staffs, good post-post-operative ICU care, and excellent infection control. We offer post-surgical rehabilitation, good follow up care and health education measures for a better outcome.

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a surgery which improves blood flow to the heart which is performed on people who have severe coronary artery disease (CAD). This surgery is usually performed with the heart stopped, necessitating the usage of Cardio pulmonary Bypass. Here, in this institute, we perform both on the pump and off-pump CABG minimizing the adverse impact of the cardiopulmonary bypass. In certain high-risk conditions, we operate with partial assistance of the cardio-pulmonary bypass called “On-pump beating heart” surgery. We also prefer using total arterial graft for the bypass surgeries which has good long term outcome. We are proficient in dealing with high-risk CAD (Post PTCA restenosis, co-existing Valvular conditions) and CAD conditions associated with other medical comorbidities (DM, Renewal disease, COPD, etc). Elderly patients (70-80 YEARS) have also been operated with a positive outcome.

Valvular Surgeries

A variety of Valvular surgeries on leaking and stenosed valves are performed here. The defunct single or multiple valves are either repaired or replaced. In case of repair, no anticoagulation is required and has a better outcome. In severely damaged valve, valve replacement is performed either with mechanical or bio-prosthetic valves. For bioprosthetic valve, no anticoagulation is required whereas, in mechanical valve, anticoagulation is a must. Good valve function is ensured by rigorous post-operative follow-up with target INR.

Aortic Surgery

Aortic aneurysm (abnormal dilation of aorta) and aortic dissection (separation of layers of aortic wall) may happen in conditions like Marfan syndrome, bicuspid aortic valve, hypertension etc. Our department is efficient in surgical repair of diseased aorta using prosthetic graft.

Adult Congenital Heart Diseases

Selected cases of Grown up Congenital Heart disease (GUCH) like ASD,VSD, Tetrology of Fallot are performed here.