In the past three days, the multidisciplinary team of the University Clinical Center in Tuzla performed three open heart surgeries on patients using epidural anesthesia. These are the first procedures of this type performed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, patients were awake all the time, and the use of respirators was avoided, Klix.ba news portal reports.
Doctors from Tuzla performed the new method at the Clinic for Cardiovascular Surgery under the supervision of colleagues from Albania, and due to the application of epidural anesthesia, patients were always aware and communicative.
“For our patients and this type of high epidural analgesia and anesthesia, it is specific that anticoagulant therapy is applied, so that complications are in a very small percentage and approximately the repair of hematomas is performed in one of three and a half thousand cases, which also brings a shortened stay of patients in intensive care, and they are deprived of pain, “said Alisa Krdzalic, a specialist in anesthesia.
All operated cardiac surgery patients now have stable vital parameters, and due to their comorbidities during the procedure using regional anesthesia, they avoided connection to a respirator.
“Due to chronic lung diseases, and according to different assessment systems, these patients had a high risk of postoperative respiratory complications. Therefore, we decided to use this type of anesthesia, ie we avoided general anesthesia and mechanical ventilation,” added the anesthesia and resuscitation specialist, Adnan Behrem.
The director of the University Clinical Center in Tuzla, Vahid Jusufovic, proudly pointed out that the team from the hospital headed by the first in Bosnia and Herzegovina applied the mentioned method.
“I am especially glad that at the time of the coronavirus pandemic, the Clinic of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care and the Clinic of Cardiovascular Surgery found the time and space to introduce a new operative method. I am communicating with him and there is no pain. I hope that we will continue our cooperation with our colleagues from Albania in the future, “said Jusufovic.
