PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, March 4: 20-year-old Kusum Kumari, a resident of Dhanbad, got a fresh lease of life at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) after returning from CMC Vellore where due to financial crunch her open heart surgery couldn’t be performed.
According to the doctors of the CTVS department, the girl was suffering from infective endocarditis. It is an infection of the inner lining of the heart muscle (endocardium) caused by bacteria, fungi, or germs that enter the bloodstream.
Her aortic valve was also damaged because of which she had persistent problems with breathing and increased heart rate.
Dr Rakesh Kumar Choudhary said that the patient reached RIMS after getting diagnosed at CMC Vellore where the estimated cost of the surgery was Rs 3.6 lakhs.
“After admitting Kusum, her open heart surgery was done in which her damaged aortic valve was replaced by a mechanical aortic valve and now the patient is doing well. The patient will be discharged soon,” Dr Choudhary said.
Kusum’s husband Om Prakash said that they came to know about the problem one year ago after which they contacted several hospitals in Dhanbad but the poor response led them to CMC Vellore.
“The hospitals at Dhanbad were saying that the patient will not survive for more than 2 days also and we need to rush to big hospitals such as CMC Vellore. After that we went to CMC Vellore where they prescribed for open-heart surgery with an estimated cost of Rs 3.6 lakh,” Prakash said.
“After returning from CMC Vellore where her surgery was not performed because of financial constraints, we came to know about RIMS from our relatives in Ranchi that open heart surgery is also being done at RIMS,” Prakash further said.
“My wife is safe now after Dr Rakesh performed open-heart surgery under the Ayushman Bharat which made the operation free of cost,” Prakash added.
Remembering the old days at RIMS, Dr Rakesh said that earlier patients travelled far away to get treated but now the time has come when difficult surgeries are being performed at RIMS itself.
“It is just a matter of awareness among the treatment seekers that RIMS is also performing open-heart surgery and the top-notch facilities available in the big hospitals of the country are also available at RIMS,” Dr Rakesh said.
