Evolution of Heart Surgery, Recent Developments, and Future Directions
Dr. Debasis Das (Batch of 1990)
Dr. Debasis Das gave a fascinating talk on the evolution of heart surgery and its present state. He traced the trajectory of heart surgery all the way from the time it was first conducted and pointed out how only about 60 years before the heart was an impenetrable chamber. In the talk he traced all the important milestones in the field of heart surgery starting from the establishment of the first division of cardiac surgery at the University of Minnesota to the landmark event of September 1952 when John Lewis closed a secundum ASD (hole in the heart) in a five year old girl.
He went to show the growth trajectory of heart surgery by pointing out the improvements over time in terms of equipment and also in terms of the advancements in the surgical capacities of the surgeons. Moving on from the historical aspects towards a promising future, he said, “the history of cardiac surgery was only a prelude; prelude to an exciting future.” He explored the key elements of Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) and pointed out the improvements that have happened over the last decades. He also talked about the advancements in heart surgery which now include innovative methods such as positioning devices and robots. The talk ended with pointing out the challenges that lay ahead in the field of heart surgery.
The participants thoroughly enjoyed the talk and were fascinated by such an important presentation about the most important organ of the human body. They asked a lot of questions which Debasis da answered with great enthusiasm and patience. The talk reached its conclusion with a vote of thanks to Debasis da on behalf of the Praktani family for this highly enriching talk.
