Kamla: God is great

All went well, with no unforeseen complications, and Dr Bissessar, 61, was later awakened from anaesthesia to speak to his wife, his doctors told Newsday.

His recovery is now being monitored.

Chief heart surgeon, Italian Prof Giovanni Teodori, with Dr Natasha Rahaman-Ganga and Dr Anand Rampersad, operated from 7 am to 10 am, while Mrs Persad-Bissessar kept a six-hour vigil during and after the surgery.

The Prime Minister cleared her schedule to be present for her husband’s surgery. The medical centre is located on the corner of Elizabeth Street and St Clair Avenue, St Clair, nearby her official office.

When Mrs Persad-Bissessar left the hospital at 2.30 pm she spoke to reporters with relief and subdued optimism, but also looked tired and strained by the ordeal.

She said, “God is great. I just spoke to my husband. He is actually making jokes and starting to exercise like this (she motioned). Thank God. So far, so fine.”

Asked about her mood, she replied, “There was cause for concern. There is a risk attached to the procedure.” Asked what she had wished him before the surgery, Persad-Bissessar whispered to reporters, “God be with you.”

Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh accompanied Mrs Persad-Bissessar and her son, Kris. “The surgery has been successful in terms of the surgical procedure. There have been no complications during the surgery,” said Gopeesingh. “If everything goes well, by this evening (yesterday) he may have a small cup of water by tomorrow morning (today) if everything continues well, he will be sitting up in bed and the next day moving around a little more.”

Asked if Dr Bissessar is yet out of the danger, Gopeesingh said Dr Bisssessar is now moving his limbs and speaking and is very attentive and making a lot of jokes. “We are very happy about his post-operative progress.”

Persad-Bissessar interjected, “He is doing very well so far. Very, very well.”

Gopeesingh was unfazed that the surgery had been a triple bypass as opposed to initial expectations of a double bypass.

“The cardiac surgeon, when he went in there, palpated the vessels and there was need for the third (bypass) and he did it one time.”

Mrs Persad-Bissessar thanked the public. “I really would like to thank all those who sent text messages, all the prayers and love that was offered to me and my family at this time. Thanks for them.”

She then urged the population to check their own heart health.

“Generally when something like this happens we say, ‘Oh, we have to go and get checked’. We say that for a day or two and then we don’t. I think it is very important, especially when you are over 50 I believe, or even over 45, that you want to do regular check-ups. Once a year you do a full check-up.”

She advised people to adopt healthy lifestyles. “I think my husband’s exercise regime allowed him to survive on a 95 percent blocked heart, and he didn’t even know. So exercise, healthy lifestyles, food. Again, Greg is also very good with vegetables and fruits. That and his exercise. I think that kept him alive in spite of such a very major occlusion (blockage) in the heart.

“So checks, of course regularly; fruit, healthy diet; exercise. I think that’s it. I may take some of that advice myself.”

She then asked to be excused, saying, “Could you let me go please; I need to get some rest. I’ll be back later”.

Gopeesingh told Newsday the bypasses were done on the right coronary artery, left anterior descending artery and left circumflex artery. Later Dr Teodori told Newsday of Dr Bissessar’s state, saying, “He is stable, he is good. No bleeding. No surgical complication. Everything apparently went well.

“He has passed the most critical part of the procure — the surgery and extubation when we woke him up from his anaesthesia and removed his breathing tube.”

Teodori said for the first 24 hours after a bypass, each passing hour is vital for the patient to get better and better.

Dr Bissessar will spend about two days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and by tomorrow will be moved to the ward, and be discharged a few days later, said Teodori. After a further month, he would be able to have a normal life, and in three months time will resume his full strength.

For now, however, the hospital will monitor Dr Bissessar’s heart, breathing, bleeding, urine output and other vital functions.

Teodori explained the operation to Newsday.

A vein was removed from each of Dr Bissessar’s legs (Saphenous Arteries) and from his chest (Mammary Artery) and used to create three new routes from the body’s circulatory system to the web of arteries that supply blood to the tissue of the heart, the coronary arteries. As this procedure bypasses blockages in three coronary arteries, it is known a triple bypass. Teodori said the surgery had been done on Dr Bissessar’s beating heart, known as “off pump surgery”, as opposed to stopping the heart, using a heart-lung machine during surgery and later re-starting the heart. Saying 98 percent of his patients have off-pump surgery, Teodori said this option is done for procedures done on the surface of the heart (but not for entering the heart to fix valves), and it leads to quicker recovery than the alternative process.

“It is a more difficult technique but it gives better results as it is less invasive for the body, not using the pump can avoid all the problems.” Teodori said that Heart Care Medcorp each year performs 280 to 300 bypass operations, 60 to 70 heart-valve operations, plus about 50 cases of heart surgery on children, for birth-defects. Newsday understands Dr Bissessar is himself paying the roughly $150,000 cost of the operation, although as the husband of the Prime Minister his medical bills can be covered by the State.

Gopeesingh, an obstetrician/gynaecologist, yesterday regularly updated both Mrs Persad- Bissessar and reporters on Dr Bissessar’s condition.

Urging lifestyle changes, Gopeesingh said heart disease is caused by obesity, diabetes, hypertension, high triglycerides and lack of exercise. Get an early look at Grand National 2017 The freshest news here!

Perefusionist Dr Kamal Rampersad said bypass surgery was very routine, saying, “He (Dr Bissessar) had three grafts and he is now recovering in the ICU. We have no expectation other than things will go well.” Visitors to the Bissessars at hospital included Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal, Minister of Legal Affairs Prakash Ramadhar; Minister of Tertiary Education,Fazal Karim and Minister in the Ministry of National Security Subhas Panday.