A live workshop was on July 31 conducted first time on latest medical technology called “Near Infrared Spectroscopy Guided Surgery” by the department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (CVTS) at S K Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Assistant Director Public Relations said this afternoon.

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Head of the Department (HoD) HOD, CVTS elaborated that this state of the art and high tech equipment used, briefly called NIRS” plays a pivotal role in successful surgery on patients with challenging cardiovascular diseases like Ascending Aortic and Transverse Arch Aneurysms with or without dissections and Aortic Arch Vessel Pathology. It provides a continuous study of Cerebral Oximetry and safely guides the surgeon during the course of surgery on Aortic Arch Vessels supplying oxygenated blood to the brain. Without such a facility and gadget, the Surgical / Anesthetic team is handicapped and cannot predict the outcome of such a challenging surgical procedure for complex diseases of cardiovascular system.

During the Workshop, a 76- year-old man was successfully operated under the guidance of Near Infrared Spectroscopy by a team of Cardiovascular surgeons led by Dr G N Lone with his team members like Dr Farooq Ganie, Dr Hidayat Peerzada, Mr Firdous Ahmad, Mr Asif, Mr Lateef Kurpal, Ms.Mehak, MS Shareefa,Ms Meema and Mr Irfan.

The PR said the workshop was conducted while the patient was fully conscious which was ensured under Cervical Plexus Block performed by Dr Talib Khan, Cardiothoracic Anesthetist and his team. Online technical assistance was provided by the Company experts from New Delhi (Mr Sachin Dogra and Mr Ajay Thakur ). However, local experts comprising Mr Sumeet Singh and Mr Nazim Ali from concerned company actively assisted the Surgical team during the procedure in the operation theater. Whole of the surgical procedure was done while the patient was awake and the procedure was smoothly conducted without any complications.

Director SKIMS Prof A G Ahangar watched the procedure during the Workshop and appreciated the work done by the department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and hoped for further advancements in the sphere of technology. Till date Interestingly, such technology was only available at AIIMS, Fortis-Escorts, New Delhi and Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon in Northern India, the PR said.