NEW DELHI, July 27 � Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is unlikley to undergo heart surgery at Max Hospital and currently consulting experts including the renowned cardio vascular thoracic surgeon Dr Ramakanta Panda.
Dr Panda, who is the vice-chairman of Asian Heart Institute (AHI) and operated on Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is being sought by the Chief Minister for his opinion. Dr. Panda is recognised as being among the first surgeons in the country to introduce the concept of �total arterial revascularisation�, as well as being one of the pioneers of �off-pump� bypass surgery, redo bypass surgery.
His surgical team has performed over 11,000 bypass surgeries, making him one of the highest-volume surgeons in the world. He is also credited with performing more than 700 repeat (redo) bypass surgeries, as well as more than 1,500 high-risk surgeries
Family sources told this newspaper that they have more or less decided not to go ahead with the heart surgery at Max Hospital. They are weighing the options of either having him flown to Mumbai or shift him to AIIMS.
Sources said the decision was taken after a team of doctors that included Director of AIIMS, Dr Ramesh Deka, experts drawn from AIIMS and head of the Cardiology department of Gauhati Medical College, Dr Anjan Bhattacharyya, met and reviewed the results of all the tests including the angiography done on the Chief Minister. The experts opined that Gogoi should not rush with the operation immediately.
They advised him not to rush with surgery, as he did not face any medical emergency and instead to seek further medical opinion. The Prime Minister�s Office (PMO) too is in touch with the family and doctors from AIIMS, sources added.
This is opposed to what Dr Pervez Ahmed had told media yesterday that the surgeries were likely to be conducted in the next two to three days.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister was shifted to the VIP suite in Max and is stated to be functioning normally. He met a couple of visitors and has been put on routine diet, sources added.
Yesterday, the CEO of Max Heart and Vascular Hospital, Dr Pervez Ahmed, said that the Chief Minister would require two surgeries � a bypass surgery and another surgery to replace an aortic valve with 70 to 80 percent blocks in two blood vessels.
Meanwhile, confusion prevailed over the Chief Minister�s health condition in absence of any medical bulletins from Max Hospital. The doctors were selectively talking to the media, leading to misreporting in the local media.
Sources said Gogoi himself was upset over the reporting. A senior State Government official said they were given to understand that the doctors were conducting medical investigations, but were appalled to see Dr Ahmed going on TV news channel with details of the Chief Minister�s health conditions.
