This is a story of hope and recovery about a 51-year-old Kharagpur patient who faced adversity but overcame it with the help of Desun Hospital‘s Head of Cardiac Anaesthesiology, Dr. Subhendu Sarkar.

This patient had cardiac surgery to repair his aortic valve back in 2009. But as time went on, a trapped valve leaflet started to cause him breathing problems. He was also dealing with diabetes, high blood pressure, and multiple myeloma, a blood malignancy that compromised his immune system.

To overcome all of these obstacles, cooperation was needed. Physicians from several departments collaborated closely, including neurology, oncology, and cardiology. They went ahead with the big heart operation after getting the oncology team’s consent and carefully managing the patient’s diabetes and infections.

The postoperative phase, however, brought with it tremendous difficulties. Due to an infection, the patient became quite sick and spent a day in a coma. When he awoke, he found that he had suffered a stroke that had left his left side immobile. To make matters worse, a scan indicated that there was bleeding in a portion of his brain due to inadequate blood flow.

Dr. Sarkar and his group took immediate action, unfazed. Strong drugs were given to fight the infection, more blood was given to help him heal, and his heart condition was constantly watched. By the third day, the infection was gradually getting better. The patient no longer needed mechanical ventilation by the sixth day. And on the eighth day, he started doing specific workouts to get his left side moving again.

Surprisingly, the patient no longer needed extra oxygen or cardiac help by the ninth day after surgery. Even though he was fighting cancer, there was no worsening of his condition in the confusion.

The patient’s tale gives hope to those facing health issues as he continues to make progress.

Priyanka Dutta