Everyone could watch live on Wednesday how John Pereira from Eindhoven, on his 71st birthday, was operated on on his heart. Surgeon Bart Koene often performs such an operation when people are watching, but never before such a large audience.
“It went really well,” says Koene when he comes out of the operating room. “You can never be 100% sure what you will find. With a diversion you need a healthy spot and John’s coronary artery was completely calcified, so that took some searching. But It worked.”
John Pereira developed breathing problems in April. Upon examination, he was found to have a narrowing in an important artery near his heart. He hesitated for a long time about having the operation, but because John wants nothing more than to see his granddaughter grow up, he decided to have the operation.
“Heart surgery is experienced as very invasive, but it is a routine procedure that can be done very safely.”
For an hour, thousands of eyes were focused on the work of Bart and his team. “We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback,” he says. From people who have the same operation, but also from people who have doubts or are concerned. “Heart surgery is a maximum intervention in the human body. The heart pauses for a moment. This is experienced as very drastic, but it is a routine procedure that can be done very safely. By showing that, you take it out of the mysterious and people have more faith in the doctor.”
“If we can reduce the stress with this, it will be worth it”
That is also why John wanted to participate in the live broadcast. He hopes to help others who are going through the same and also find it exciting. But can it go wrong? “The doctor goes in with a plan A, but also always has a plan B and C. There is always a heart-lung machine,” explains Koene.
According to him, the chance that people will not survive is less than half a percent. Yet he can well imagine that people continue to find it exciting. “We can now refer to this broadcast and if we can reduce the stress of someone or their family with it, it will be worth it,” said the doctor.
Watch the operation here:
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