What to consider before heart surgery?

Cardiac surgery is one of the most complex surgeries in cardiovascular treatment. Before a major surgery, the patient needs to be well prepared in terms of health, mental and financial well-being to facilitate the surgery, reduce the risk of complications, and be successful.

Here are the tips of Prof. TS.BS Vo Thanh Nhan - Director of Cardiovascular Center, Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital (HCMC) on what to consider when having heart surgery. GS.TS.BS Vo Thanh Nhan has more than 30 years of accompanying cardiovascular patients.

Dear Professor, heart surgery is a complicated major surgery in medicine. So in which cases surgery is required?
Cases of stenosis, severe valvular regurgitation, degree of regurgitation from 3/4 to 4/4 or stenosis with valvular area <1.5 cm2, accompanied by functional symptoms of heart failure, unresponsive to medical therapy ward, surgery is required. Complicated coronary artery disease that cannot be stented, congenital heart disease in children and adults, acquired heart disease with symptoms or severe damage... all require surgery.
The main methods of cardiovascular surgery include: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), Heart valve repair, Heart valve replacement, Correction of congenital heart diseases, Heart transplant, Aortic surgery... Present Nowadays, the technique of laparoscopic heart surgery, minimally invasive heart surgery has been implemented regularly at Vinmec Central Park to help patients have less pain surgery, early recovery, high aesthetics with small surgical scars.

What do patients need to prepare before heart surgery, Professor?
Things to prepare for the surgery to achieve the best results include: Finance; Inform the doctor about any medical conditions, allergies (if any); Abstain from eating and drinking strictly according to the doctor's instructions; Good psychological preparation and some other notes will be announced by the doctor before surgery.

Dear Professor, how to achieve the highest efficiency for a heart surgery?
Heart surgery is one of the most complex surgeries in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
In order to limit complications during heart surgery such as infections, arrhythmias, anesthesia problems... in addition to requiring skilled doctors and modern equipment, anesthesia techniques are very important. Some large hospitals have adopted advanced techniques to reduce side effects and complications for patients.
At Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital, open-heart surgery technique has been applied in combination with vertebral plane (ESP) anesthesia, without the need for morphine to relieve pain. This has helped the patient get rid of the pain after surgery as well as the side effects of morphine.
In addition, the hospital's good and clean environment, modern prevention system, international standards, very low hospital infection rate, and low rate of complications and surgical complications are strengths. of Vinmec Central Park, helping patients have a completely different experience during cardiovascular surgery at Vinmec. Vinmec is also one of the few hospitals in Vietnam that meets JCI standards, a prestigious international standard to ensure patient safety, which is also an advantage of Vinmec compared to other heart surgery hospitals.

Many heart patients have chosen to go abroad for treatment, what do you think about this?
In my opinion, the patient has to go abroad for treatment because the patient does not trust the skills/equipment/facilities in Vietnam. Many families take their relatives abroad such as Singapore, Thailand, Japan... for surgery, although the cost may be 20 times higher than in the country (about 700-800 million VND/case). However, the actual technique of coronary stenting and aortic valve replacement in Vietnam has made great progress, reaching world standards and not inferior to other countries in the region.
At Vinmec Central Park, we have updated and mastered modern treatment protocols as well as the world's most complex cardiovascular surgery methods such as percutaneous aortic valve replacement with TAVI catheter...
Thanks to these things, in December 2017, Vinmec Central Park was recognized as the first American standard independent cardiovascular intervention center (TAVI solo center) in Vietnam. Up to now, the hospital has successfully treated over 98% of cases of TAVI intervention, open heart surgery, open heart surgery without pain - effective even in severe cases, the elderly provide the opportunity to cure the disease. effective treatment for cardiovascular patients without having to go abroad.
In addition, at present, laparoscopic and minimally invasive heart surgery techniques have been routinely deployed at Vinmec Central Park to help patients undergo surgery with less pain, early recovery, and high aesthetics with surgical scars. Small is hidden in natural wrinkles. Vinmec has met JCI standards, international standards for hospital quality, ensuring that Vimec has the same treatment quality as major hospitals in the region. Therefore, patients can feel secure when examining and performing heart surgery at Vinmec.

Is the cost of heart surgery one of the barriers for patients, Professor?
Over 30 years of accompanying cardiovascular patients, I see that patients always have double worries: Is the treatment safe, is it cured and the cost is too great?
The cost of a transcatheter aortic valve replacement intervention (TAVI) is from 600 to 900 million VND, coronary stenting is from 70 to 120 million VND; Heart surgery costs from 80 million to 300 million VND depending on the severity of the disease... Especially when it comes to emergency treatment, not everyone can "manage" a large sum of money right away. That can be a barrier to patients not receiving treatment within the “golden” time frame for optimal effectiveness.

To remove this bottleneck for patients, Vinmec Central Park Cardiovascular Center (HCMC) has built a Package Cardiac Treatment Program (Bundle payment) to help patients ensure costs and enjoy full benefits. the superiority of the service line model. Instead of only one main doctor or one treatment specialist, patients will be consulted and agreed on a treatment plan from a team of doctors from many specialties. This model has already been applied at many of America's leading cardiovascular centers.
Thank you doctor!