Dr. Arun Kumar
Senior Consultant, Cardiothoracic Surgery — Robotic & Minimally Invasive Procedures, KG Hospital, Coimbatore.
KG Hospital, Coimbatore, has successfully performed a rare and first-of-its-kind heart surgery in India, combining valve replacement and triple-vessel bypass surgery through a minimally invasive approach — without cutting open the chest bone (sternum), a standard requirement in traditional open-heart procedures.
The surgery was led by Dr. Arun Kumar, Senior Consultant in Cardiothoracic Surgery and a specialist in robotic and minimally invasive procedures, who drew inspiration from a technique pioneered by a Ukrainian surgeon who has performed 17 such cases globally.
The Procedure
The procedure was carried out on a 60-year-old patient who had been suffering from both valvular heart disease and coronary artery blockages. Both conditions were treated simultaneously through a small left chest incision measuring just 16 cm by 7 cm — entirely without cutting the sternum, using only muscle-access techniques.
The patient, an international athletic coach from Coimbatore, had experienced sudden dizziness and was found to require both a bypass surgery and a valve replacement due to calcium deposits in the aortic valve. Given the complexity, he was referred to Dr. Arun Kumar for the combined, minimally invasive procedure.
"In most traditional surgeries, we need to saw open the chest bone to reach the heart. Here, we entered through the space between the ribs, performed both surgeries with minimal trauma, and achieved a smooth and fast recovery." — Dr. Arun Kumar, Senior Consultant, Cardiothoracic Surgery, KG Hospital
Just five days after surgery, the patient resumed walking and basic activities. A month later, he was fully active and back to coaching students — a remarkable outcome considering the scale and complexity of the operation.
A New Era in Cardiac Surgery
The KG Hospital team used a combination of minimally invasive and robotic-assisted surgery: valve replacement (replacing the damaged heart valve) and triple bypass surgery (rerouting three major blood vessels to improve blood flow). This approach significantly reduces post-operative pain, hospital stay, risk of complications, and visible scarring.
The hospital has also recently performed a Totally Endoscopic Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) Closure through a 1.5 cm incision — a procedure that normally requires a 14 cm cut in the chest.
This is the first time in India that this combination of suture-less aortic valve replacement using robotics and Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery (MICS) has been carried out together, according to KG Hospital Chairman Dr. G. Bakthavathsalam.
