For the first time in Belarus, three open-heart surgeries are being performed simultaneously

December 17, Vitebsk / Sergey Kotoveto - BELTA /. For the first time in Belarus, three complex open-heart surgeries are being performed simultaneously in Vitebsk, as reported to journalists today before the surgeries by Yuri Ostrovsky, Head of the Heart Surgery Laboratory at the RSPC "Cardiology", Chief Freelance Cardiac Surgeon of the Ministry of Health of Belarus, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, according to a BELTA correspondent. The surgeries are organized during the first republican scientific and practical conference dedicated to the 50th anniversary of domestic cardiac surgery. The first surgeons at the operating tables are Yuri Shneider, Head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at the Leningrad Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor; Alexander Chernyavsky, Deputy Director of the Novosibirsk Center for Circulation Pathology, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor; and Yuri Ostrovsky. Doctors from the Vitebsk Regional Clinical Hospital, where the surgeries are taking place, are acting as assistants. A video broadcast of the surgeries has been organized at the clinic. Leading cardiac surgery specialists from all regions of Belarus are observing the procedures. According to Yuri Ostrovsky, Vitebsk was chosen as the venue for the surgeries because the region holds a leading position among cardiac surgery departments in Belarus. "The largest number of heart surgeries and the widest range of procedures among regional departments have been performed here," he emphasized. Alexander Zenkov, Head of the Cardiac Surgery Department of the Vitebsk Regional Clinical Hospital, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor, reported that the youngest patient is just over 40 years old. He is scheduled for ascending aorta prosthesis with implantation of his own valve into the prosthesis, as well as coronary artery bypass grafting. The second patient will undergo mitral valve replacement surgery. Another patient with ischemic heart disease who has had a myocardial infarction is scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting (three grafts on a beating heart). "This technique is more challenging for the surgeon, but the patient tolerates such surgery better," noted Alexander Zenkov. The duration of the surgeries is about 4-5 hours. The scientific and practical forum has brought together leading specialists in cardiac and thoracic surgery from all regions of Belarus, as well as representatives of specialized medical and research institutions from Russia, Germany, and Lithuania. Conference participants will discuss the most important issues in cardiovascular diseases, learn about and exchange experience in implementing the latest developments in cardiac and thoracic surgery. Specialists will analyze modern aspects of surgical treatment for ischemic heart disease, thoracic aortic aneurysms, and tachyarrhythmias, and will present research results in cardiac and thoracic surgery, transplantation, and bioprosthetics. During the forum, the founding conference of the Belarusian Association of Cardithoracic Surgeons will be held. The scientific and practical conference is organized by the Vitebsk Regional Clinical Hospital and Vitebsk State Medical University with the support of the Republican Scientific and Practical Center "Cardiology". -0-