Heart Surgery

Over the past years, we have financially assisted many patients in the costs of their surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Studies (AIIMS) in Delhi. Lama Chogyal and Lama Lobzang used to fly to Delhi to help with the admission of some of these patients. We continue to maintain a close relationship with the AIIMS Cardiology department, which ensures that the few patients we still send down are admitted immediately, without paying to stay in Delhi while on the waiting list. However, over the past year, LHF has tried to put more emphasis on the clinics given each year by Professor Kumar (cardiovascular surgeon) and Dr. Mishra (cardiologist) from AIIMS at the government hospital in Leh (SNM Hospital), whose expenses is paid by the Ladakh Heart Foundation. Over the course of a few days, difficult diagnoses can be made, surgical need can be assessed, and surgical follow-up can be ensured- hundreds of patients are seen, removing the need of a costly journey to Delhi for many of them, which explains our interest for those clinics. Regarding those patients who still have to travel to Delhi, they have to pay only for supplies used in the operation, particularly the cost of the valve, while the services of the doctors and nurses and the hospital bed are free. Some of the patients require blood transfusions during surgery, and this is very kindly donated by some of the Ladakhi students, monks, and other Ladakhi residents in Delhi. The Ladakh Buddhist Vihara in Delhi also often supplies accommodation in Delhi at little or no cost. After last year successful attempts to perform Patent Ductus Arteriosus closures, which saved the patients a lot of expenses and allowed the training of surgeons in Leh to perform the same procedure, Professor Kumar performed patent Ductus Arteriosus surgery on a similar number of patients in SNM Hospital on 17th & 18th of August 2004. A young married woman, mother of 3 month old baby suffering from left atrial myxoma was taken down to AIIMS New Delhi and was operated free of cost at the AIIMS New Delhi by Prof. Sampath Kumar. The timely diagnosis and prompt surgical treatment certainly saved this young woman's life. Otherwise she was certain to die in few months.