Cuttack: Leakage In Oxygen Pipe Halts Open Heart Surgery At SCB

Cuttack: Open heart surgery at the Cardiothoracic ward of the SCB Medical College and Hospital here was grinded to a halt following a leakage in the Oxygen pipe on Tuesday.

According to medical sources, the surgery has been stopped at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Oeration theatre (OT) following the malfunction in the oxygen pipe.

Meanwhile, critical patients have been shifted to other wards and the Oxygen plant has been closed following the leakage. The surgery will resume after the situation normalises, sources in the hospital said.

However, SCB Emergency Medical Officer Dr Bhubanananda Moharana claimed that the news about the leakage in the Oxygen pipe is a rumour.

“The gas plant is functioning well, but the panel board has developed some mechanical problems for which ICU and OT have been shut down for a temporary period. Effort is on to repair the panel board soon,” said Moharana.

Last time the surgery was halted in May, 2019 due to the extensive damage to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Cardio Thoracic Vascular (CTV) Surgery department due to the extremely severe cyclone Fani.

While the glass doors and windows had been shattered, some other equipment had also sustained damages in the cyclone.

Open heart surgery started in SCB in 1987 and is regarded as a significant milestone in state’s healthcare. Earlier patients had to go to New Delhi and Mumbai and depend upon private hospitals for open heart surgery.

(Edited by Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty)