The Hindu Business Line : Lady cardio lords over a crumbling male bastion

CRUMBLING male bastion is an expression conveniently flogged to near death in these times when women have taken to orbiting the space, if not heading for the moon already.

But, the vital signs in what is left of this tired cliché might respond positively to the success story of a young cardiac surgeon who has been able to benchmark herself against the internationally best in business and is attracting rave peer reviews.

For 39-year-old Dr Shanthala Kotekar Prabhu, consultant cardiac surgeon with the Sree Uthradam Thirunal Super Speciality Hospital based here, the rarity of her status as a woman cardiac surgeon is only matched by the zero per cent mortality rate in elective coronary artery bypass surgery consistently achieved by her over a period of the last five years.

It is instructive in this respect to know that the mortality rate for high-risk bypass surgeries in India is much higher. Even in the US, it is two per cent. Cleveland Clinic, acclaimed as one of world's best, has a mortality rate of 0.80 per cent or thereabouts for bypass surgeries.

According to Dr Prabhu, a woman cardiac surgeon may not jell immediately with the client, but invariably melds with the scheme of things as the latter becomes aware that there is everything about the doctor that the heart can desire. There have been instances when at least some of her patients admitted to having been not even aware if women cardiac surgeons existed at all!

Ask Dr Prabhu if she had her heart in the right place opting for the rigours of cardiac surgery, unlike Gynaecology or Paediatrics which women medicos take like fish to water. And she says it's the very heart-stopping procedures graphically described in books and shown on TV that clinched the issue for her. She has no regrets whatsoever, after having put all these years in the demanding profession.

Dr Prabhu attributed her surgery record to hard work and dedication. Her family has been equally supportive with her cause. "Cardiac surgery is a team effort and hence the credit should go to the whole team at Sree Uthradam Thirunal as well," she says.

The high incidence of heart disease among the young and the middle-aged group in Kerala is disturbing, Dr Prabhu says. Studies indicate that, globally, the occurrence of heart diseases is the highest in India, and across all age groups. This significantly contrasts with the situation obtaining in the West, where heart diseases are a problem of the elderly.

India's predicament can be attributed to a number of factors, not least among which is its dubious distinction to being the "diabetic capital of the world." Typical metabolic conditions in Indians do not help matters either. A majority of them develop abdominal obesity, which, in turn, raises cholesterol and blood pressure levels. Smoking and a sedentary lifestyle also contribute to the alarming rise in heart diseases, now estimated to afflict one in every seven Indians.

On the much-debated coconut oil Vs cholesterol issue, Dr Prabhu says coconut oil has no cholesterol as such. But, it has saturated fatty acids that can raise the total cholesterol levels. "That's why we counsel reduced coconut oil intake."

More Stories on : Health | Gender | Kerala

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page