Apollo opens bloodless surgery centre in B'lore

Apollo Hospitals today launched a centre for bloodless surgery in Bangalore. Reducing transmission of infections is one reason why such surgeries are performed. Preventing the loss of blood is the other.

Bloodless surgeries are gaining in popularity across the world in tertiary care centres. The United States has 15 bloodless surgery centres, while Canada has three and China one. "The driver of the bloodless surgery in the US was the lack of availability of blood. A Christian sect Jehovah's Children gave a shot in the arm to such surgeries and were the biggest trigger behind the so many centres in the US. Their beliefs do not allow them to accept blood transfusions," said Dr Umesh Gupta, director - medical services, chief quality officer, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises, Bangalore.

Another factor that triggered the growth and popularity of the procedure was the prohibitive cost of blood transfusion. "It costs $2,500-3,000 for one transfusion in the US and there are fewer donors in the US today," said Dr Jithendra K G P, senior consultant, Apollo Hospitals. Elderly patients and those living without family members face difficulty in finding others who can donate blood on their behalf.

The procedure requires advanced anaesthetic techniques to be used. For instance, a heart surgery would need only a 5 cm incision instead of the standard 12 cm. In case of a blood test, the centre will depend on micro-sampling. The procedure, said Dr Gupta, may eventually cut costs.

Bloodless surgery was popularised at the beginning of the 20th Century by the Austrian orthopaedic surgeon Dr Adolf Lorenz who was known as the bloodless surgeon of Vienna. He treated patients with non-invasive techniques. His medical procedure resulted from his allergy to carbolic acid that was routinely used in operating rooms of his times.

The procedure is suitable more for elective procedures and not for trauma cases.