Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (CTVS) at CritiCare Asia Hospitals, Malad
When the heart or lungs need surgery, the whole family feels it. Cardio-thoracic surgery covers operations on the heart, lungs, chest cavity, and major blood vessels, and it is considered when other treatments have not been enough. CritiCare Asia Hospitals is a heart hospital in Mumbai where patients and relatives are kept informed at every stage. Each surgical plan is shaped by the patient's anatomy and risk profile. Evaluation before surgery, monitoring after it, and rehabilitation are planned as one connected process. Our team provides cardiothoracic surgery in Malad for coronary, valve, aortic, lung and chest wall conditions, using open and minimally invasive techniques.
Understanding Cardio-Thoracic Surgery
The specialty deals with problems of the coronary arteries, valves, aorta, lungs and chest wall. Surgery is typically advised once medicines and non-surgical interventions can no longer control symptoms or halt progression, and only after the condition's likely course has been weighed against the risks of operating. A cardiothoracic surgeon in Malad at our hospital walks patients and their families through that balance before asking for a decision.
Warning Signs Worth Acting On
Many people delay a check-up because early symptoms seem ordinary. These deserve attention:
- Chest tightness or pain: often on effort, sometimes spreading to the arm, jaw or back
- Shortness of breath: tiring quickly during routine tasks
- Palpitations or fainting spells
- Swollen feet or ankles
- An ongoing cough or chest discomfort: when a lung or chest growth needs to be ruled out
Conditions That May Need Surgery
Some conditions leave no time to wait. A heart attack, an aortic dissection, or trauma to a major vessel calls for urgent surgery. Others are found during routine or diagnostic check-ups and are scheduled once the patient is fit enough. Planned heart surgery in Malad is most often advised for:
- Coronary artery disease: blockages that restrict blood supply to the heart
- Valve disorders: valves that have narrowed or begun to leak
- Aortic aneurysms and dissections
- Congenital heart defects: some go unnoticed until adulthood
- Tumours of the chest or lungs
Getting Ready for the Operation
Blood work, imaging of the heart and lungs, and an anaesthesia fitness review come first. Patients are told what the operation involves, how recovery usually goes and how to prepare at home in the days before. Questions from family members matter as much as those from the patient, and they are answered in the same unhurried way.
Surgery Day
The operation is performed under general anaesthesia. For some heart procedures, a heart-lung machine takes over circulation for a time so the surgeon can work on a still heart. This is on-pump surgery. Off-pump surgery is done on a beating heart, without the machine, in selected cases. Which one is used depends on the procedure and on the patient's clinical picture. Some operations last a few hours, and complex ones take longer.
Healing in Hospital
Right after surgery, patients are cared for in an intensive care or high-dependency unit. Stable vital signs, comfortable breathing and controlled pain come first, and then the move to a general ward.
- Pain relief begins early and is adjusted day by day as recovery moves on.
- Patients sit up first and then take short walks as soon as it is medically safe, since too long in bed raises the chance of clots and lung infection.
- Breathing exercises and physiotherapy help the lungs recover fully.
The Years After Surgery
A good result depends on what happens after discharge too.
- Graft and valve durability
differs from one patient and one procedure to the next, so the surgical team can answer this for your case - Medicines
a mechanical valve usually means blood thinners for life, and other medicines may be added depending on the condition - Daily habits
healthy meals, regular activity and giving up smoking where relevant all protect the surgery's outcome - Check-ups
these confirm healing and show how well the heart or lungs are working, and nothing else takes their place
Call your care team at once if you notice fever, redness or discharge at the wound, worsening chest pain, breathlessness beyond what recovery should bring, an irregular heartbeat or swollen legs. They may signal infection, fluid imbalance or another complication that needs prompt evaluation.
Treatment Options
Surgery is chosen to suit the condition, not the other way round. Options include:
- Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)
creates a new route for blood around blocked coronary arteries - Valve repair or replacement
for narrowed or leaking heart valves - Aortic surgery
repairs aneurysms or dissections in the aorta - Lung resection
removes diseased or cancerous lung tissue - Chest wall and mediastinal surgery
treats tumours or structural abnormalities inside the chest
Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (CTVS) at CritiCare Asia Hospitals, Malad
Every cardiothoracic surgeon at CritiCare Asia Hospitals works alongside cardiology and critical care colleagues, and surgical decisions are taken together. That shows most clearly in how the technique is chosen. On-pump, off-pump or minimally invasive surgery is selected around the patient's anatomy, risk profile and likely recovery. Pre-operative evaluation, close post-surgical monitoring and structured rehabilitation then follow as one continuous process. Families seeking a surgical opinion can arrange a consultation with the cardio-thoracic team at CritiCare Asia Hospitals, Malad.