Fortis Escorts Heart Institute
Congenital Heart Disease
Member Since: 2011
Biography:
I am Chairman, Pediatric & Congenital Heart Surgery, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, New Delhi. I have been a dedicated pediatric cardiac surgeon for 34 years and have a wide-ranging involvement with cardiac care for children in India and other developing nations. I obtained my basic medical and cardiovascular surgery training at the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. I trained in neonatal and infant surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia in 1989 and since my return I have endeavored to establish and promote the specialty of pediatric and congenital heart surgery in India.
I established the first dedicated pediatric cardiac care program in North India at Escorts Heart Institute Research Centre (now Fortis-Escorts Heart Institute) in 1995. This pediatric cardiac program has become the benchmark for cardiac care for children in India and its South East Asian neighbours, catering not only to children from all parts of India but also to patients from over 15 countries. I have operated on more than 15,000 babies, children and adults with congenital heart diseases, specializing in a wide range of one stage and multi-stage corrections for complex congenital heart diseases. I have done original work on the rapid two-stage arterial switch procedures and performed the first successful rapid two stage arterial switch (1992) and double-switch operation (1993) in India.
I have trained over 25 pediatric cardiac surgeons who are now running pediatric cardiac programs of their own in India and nearby countries.
My key interests have been to establish benchmarks for outcomes in congenital heart disease, perfecting complex neonatal cardiac surgery , salvaging late presenters of congenital heart disease, and developing cost effective cardiac care for children in developing countries.
I was the Founder President of Asia-Pacific Pediatric Cardiac Society and Society of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgeons ( India). I have also been President of Pediatric Cardiac Society of India and Indian Association of Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgeons. I am also permanent member of the Steering Committee of the World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery. I have been instrumental in supporting pediatric cardiac programs in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and Malaysia.
What Does the AATS Mean to You:
AATS gives me the opportunity to connect with the world leaders in my specialty and sets standards for me that I need to achieve. AATS is clearly the world’s foremost cardiothoracic Association and its membership is a recognition of the work that I have done over the years and that recognition is immensely gratifying. I have appreciated the tremendous efforts that AATS has made in recent years to reach out globally and be more inclusive and encourage international memberships. Access to the AATS journals helps me keep up with the latest advances in my field of work. I feel proud to be a member of an Association that has done so much to advance the field of cardiovascular surgery across the globe.
My First Experience with AATS:
My first interaction with AATS was in 2010 in New Delhi when I was Organizing Secretary for the joint Conference of the Indian Association of Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgeons and Asian Society of Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgeons. AATS collaborated to run the Post-Graduate teaching program on the first day of the conference. AATS sent a delegation of faculty members and among them I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Thomas Spray, then President of AATS, and Dr. Francis Fontan. It was a memorable event. The whole event left a lasting impression. Dr Spray visited my unit and after seeing our work sponsored my application for AATS membership.
Why I became an AATS member:
I became a member of the AATS because I felt that I would be joining a group of cardiovascular surgeons who are recognized for their pioneering work in advancing the specialty. I also felt that it would help bring international exposure and limelight to the work being done in my country. Subsequently I hoped that membership would help in increased collaboration between AATS and the Indian Association of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons. This has happened in the form of an annual joint postgraduate session on the first day of our annual conference every year.
The most impactful presentation I have seen at an AATS meeting:
The most memorable presentation was the online interview with Dr. Denton Cooley during the Legend’s Luncheon at the 96th Annual Meeting held in Baltimore in 2016. Dr. Cooley has been an inspiration for me throughout my career and so listening to him talk about his journey in cardiac surgery despite his advanced age was heart warming.
The first presentation I gave is:
My first presentation at the AATS was a lecture on “Technique of Two Patch repair of Atrio-ventricular Septal Defects” in the Postgraduate session on Congenital Skills at the 96th annual meeting in Baltimore in 2016. I was also co-chair for the session.
The first paper I had published is:
The first paper that I published was in JTCVS, Iyer KS, Reddy K.S, Rao I.M, Venugopal P, Bhatia M.L, Gopinath N. “Valve replacement in children under twenty years of age - Experience with the Bjork-Shiley prosthesis”. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1984;88 (2) : 217-224.
I plan on becoming more involved in the organization through:
I have actively participated as a faculty in all the joint post-graduate CME’s between AATS and IACTS in the last several years. I will be happy to promote International activities of the AATS and help increase collaboration in the Asia Pacific region especially in the field of congenital cardiac surgery
A significant case/patient interaction that impacted my career is:
As a trainee in cardiac surgery my job was to schedule patients for surgery every day. Congenital heart surgery was poorly developed and there was a high surgical mortality. So children with complex heart disease would wait for days on end in the ward waiting for their surgery, because no one wanted to have a surgical mortality. The kids would come to me every day and ask pleadingly “When is my turn?”. My stomach would churn because they were innocently unaware for what lay in store. It was then that I decided that I would work towards providing the best CHD care in India."
My career in CT Surgery was inspired by:
When I finished medical school in 1978 cardiac surgery was a still very under-developed specialty in India. I was fortunate to have caught the eye of Prof. Gopinath who was the Chief of Cardiac Surgery at my Institution and had been trained by Dr. Walton Lillehei. He showed me what was the potential for cardiac surgery and inspired me to take up a career in cardiac surgery. Seeing the human heart beating for the fist timer in the operating room decided my career for me.
A significant case/patient interaction that impacted my career is:
As a trainee in cardiac surgery my job was to schedule patients for surgery every day. Congenital heart surgery was poorly developed and there was a high surgical mortality. So children with complex heart disease would wait for days on end in the ward waiting for their surgery, because no one wanted to have a surgical mortality. The kids would come to me every day and ask pleadingly “When is my turn?”. My stomach would churn because they were innocently unaware for what lay in store. It was then that I decided that I would work towards providing the best CHD care in India.
The biggest impact my mentor had on my career is:
My mentor in congenital heart surgery was Dr. Roger BB Mee from Melbourne. He was the turning point in my career. His greatest impact was that he showed me the way that congenital heart surgery could be done safely and with good outcomes without too many resources if one had sound knowledge of physiology and paid meticulous attention to details during surgery. He made me believe that I could deliver high end pediatric cardiac care in India even with limited resources.
The topic most important to advancing the field of CT Surgery is:
Advancing cardiac surgery requires measures to make it affordable, accessible, and deliverable to all those who need it, rich or poor, in the cities or in the villages, without any barriers. At present nearly 80% of the global population has little or no access to cardiac surgery.
The most pressing issues impacting CT surgery are:
The most important issue that affects cardiac surgery today is the rapid advances in Interventional Cardiology that has forced cardiac surgeons to rethink the way they deliver cardiac surgery. The patient pool is now increasingly being eaten away by the cardiologists and this is an issue that surgeons need to grapple with.
Advice for Trainees:
My advice to trainees is that they should choose their subspecialty of interest early in their training and then find a good mentor to work with in that subspecialty after their basic training. A good mentor remains a guide throughout ones career.