GUNTUR: In a significant achievement for Guntur Government General Hospital (GGH), 56 heart bypass and open-heart surgeries have been successfully performed over the past eight months, according to hospital Superintendent Dr Kiran Kumar.
Addressing the press on Thursday alongside doctors from the Cardiothoracic Department, Dr Kumar announced that since resuming heart surgeries, the hospital has conducted procedures including aortic valve replacement and mitral valve replacement, all free of charge under the NTR Vidya Seva scheme.
Following this success, health department officials have directed the team to assist Siddhartha Medical College and Vijayawada GGH, Dr Kumar added. Heart bypass surgeries began at GGH in 2016 through a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sahrudaya Trust, which provided essential facilities, equipment, and support for performing coronary artery bypass surgeries. However, the MoU ended in 2019, and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic further complicated matters, causing a halt in surgeries due to a severe staff shortage as many were reassigned to Covid-19 duties.
This interruption caused significant inconvenience to patients, especially those unable to afford private hospital treatments.
Recognising the issue, health department officials recommended the resumption of Sahrudaya Trust’s services. Consequently, Dr Alla Gopalakrishna Gokhale and his team successfully reinstated heart surgeries at GGH.
Dr Kumar praised Dr Gokhale, his team, and the Cardiothoracic Department for their exemplary work.
Also present at the press conference were Head of the Department Dr Harikrishna Murthy, Associate Professor Dr P Kuppu Swamy, Assistant Professors Dr Pramod, and others.
