New technique proposes to improve safety in difficult heart surgery

Dr Harinder Singh Bedi , Director of Cardiovascular Sciences at the Ivy Hospital ,  Mohali has devised a new method to enlarge the aorta to overcome difficulty in Aortic Root Enlargement (ARE), which is a technically difficult surgery.

Mohali, May 12, 2022: Dr Harinder Singh Bedi , Director of Cardiovascular Sciences at the Ivy Hospital ,  Mohali has devised a new method to enlarge the aorta to overcome difficulty in Aortic Root Enlargement (ARE), which is a technically difficult surgery.
He has already tried this new technique in a pig’s heart and it worked very well. Dr Bedi has also presented this technique to a distinguished peer group at the 14th CME of the prestigious Association of North Zone Cardio Thoracic & Vascular Surgeons (ANZCTVS).
The method was discussed in great detail and applauded by all. The chief guest in CME and President of the Indian Association of CTV surgeons also gave his valuable input on this new ‘Bedi technique’.
Dr Bedi said that Aortic Root Enlargement (ARE) is a technically difficult surgery required in a few patients who need a larger size aortic valve replacement than is possible with conventional methods. If an adequate sized valve is not put in – the patient will suffer from an iatrogenic aortic stenosis and can have a poor prognosis.
There are generally 3 surgical methods of ARE and all 3 may not be possible in some specific subset of patients,”Heart surgeons occasionally need to operate on a case who has already had a previous surgery which precludes the use of these techniques. Surgeons have been looking for a method to overcome this problem, Dr Bedi informed.
Dr Bedi has proposed an incision in the commissure between the left and the right coronary artery and to take it down to the annulus. Then this gap is closed with a pericardial or Dacron patch effectively enlarging the annulus by 1 or 2 sizes which is adequate.
In a carefully selected case, Dr Bedi plans to use this technique so that the patient can enjoy the benefits of replacing the valve.
He has also worked in Sydney, Australia. One of his mentors Dr Prof Tim Cartmill – former Chairman and Director at the Children’s Hospital, Sydney - is the co-inventor of one of the 3 previous techniques.
Dr Bedi has discussed this technique with various other surgeons and anatomists all over the World and has been applauded for thinking outside the box.
In fact it is a matter of great pride for India that one of its own surgeons has thought of a method to make heart surgery safer. Dr Bedi is credited with 2 previous surgeries which are the first in the World and have been published in the Medical literature and in the Limca Book of World Records. He presented and published the first ever series of multi vessel beating heart surgery in the World.