Standing & Contributions
A Quarter-Century of Open-Heart Surgery
30,837 cardiothoracic and vascular procedures since 2001 — adult and paediatric, open and closed heart, every one performed free of charge.
Accredited Residency Since 2002
Among the earlier CTVS programmes accredited by the National Board of Examinations, offering a 6-year direct post-MBBS residency at no cost to the resident.
The Only Free Perfusion Degree in India
The BSc Cardiac Perfusion Technology programme is the only one of its kind in the nation offered free of cost, training the perfusionists who run the heart-lung machine.
The Record in Numbers
Surgical Range and Technique
Training the Next Generation
DNB Cardiothoracic Surgery
A 6-year super-specialty residency (1 seat), 2 years in general surgery and allied specialties followed by 3 in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, with the final year in a centre of excellence. Free, with stipends as per NBE guidelines.
DNB Programme →Fellowship in Paediatric Cardiac Surgery
Advanced fellowship training for qualified cardiac surgeons within the high-volume paediatric programme.
Fellowships →BSc Cardiac Perfusion Technology
A three-year allied-health degree in extracorporeal circulation — heart-lung machine, IABP and other life-support systems.
Programme Details →IACTS SCORE at SSSIHMS
The department hosts SCORE, the review course of the Indian Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons, bringing trainees and faculty from across the country to Whitefield.
The 2019 edition is recorded in the Institute’s CME archive; later editions are added there as they are held.
Gold Medals and University Ranks
DNB CTVS — Gold Medals
- Dr. Veeresh G. S. — NBE Gold Medal, 2008 (3-year DNB); now Senior Consultant, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences & Research, Bengaluru
- Dr. L. Vijay — C. S. Sadasivan Gold Medal, NBE, 2011 (6-year DNB, 2005–2011); now Senior CTVS surgeon, CARE Hospitals, Visakhapatnam
- Dr. A. Anagha Tulsi — C. S. Sadasivan Gold Medal, NBE, June 2022 (6-year DNB, 2014–2020, plus a 1-year fellowship in paediatric cardiac surgery); now serving in a charitable hospital
BSc Perfusion Technology — RGUHS Ranks
- Mr. John Peter Patrick — 1st rank (2008 batch)
- Mr. Jithu Rajan — 2nd rank (2008 batch)
- Mr. Chandan Kumar Das — 2nd rank (2009 batch)
- Ms. Rashmi K. — 2nd rank (2011 batch)
- Ms. Ambily M. S. — 7th rank (2012 batch)
- Ms. Prathipati Chandrika — 4th rank (2015 batch)
- Ms. Sreelakshmi K. — 9th rank (2019 batch)
Awards & Recognition
- Dr. C. S. H. and Mr. Aditya Doddamane — section editors, special issue “Changing Trends & Frontiers in Cardiovascular Education”, Indian Journal of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery
- Mr. Aditya N. Doddamane — inducted into WSPCHS, AAPCHS and the Indian Society for Medical Statistics for research on congenital heart disease outcomes
- Dr. Utkarsh S. Sanghavi — first prize, Residents’ Quiz, IACTS SCORE 2021
Publications and Collaborative Research
Selected Publications
- Aortic Root Enlargement: Short-Term Outcomes from a Decade’s Worth of Experience — J Card Surg 2022;37:3016–3025
- Cardiomegaly Secondary to PDA Causing Compression of Left Pulmonary Vein — Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2022;62(5):ezac455
- Late Systemic Desaturation After ASD Device Closure — Cardiol Young, Dec 2022
- Anomalous Coronary Artery in Hoffman Variant TOF — Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, Dec 2022
- Post-MI VSD Rupture With Missed Additional Defect — Indian J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, Dec 2022
- Effect of Blood Conservation Protocol in Open Heart Surgery — Perfusion, Mar 2024
- Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection in Adults: Should We Offer Surgery? — World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg 2024;15(3):319–324
Clinical Research Collaboration
A prospective multi-centre single-arm study of the safety and performance of the Dafodil pericardial bioprosthesis in patients needing aortic or mitral valve replacement, 2018–2025. Principal Investigator: Dr. Chittaranjan S. J.; Co-Investigator: Dr. Samanvita Venkataramani.
Workshops, Presentations and Conferences
Invited Talks, 2021
- Perturbations & Accidents on CPB and Heart Transplantation — IACTSCON 2021
- Aortic Root Enlargement — HFAI, January 2021
- Protocols for Conducting CT Surgery in the COVID-19 Era — IACTS Technocollege CME, SCTIMST Trivandrum, July 2021
- Right Atrium: Anatomy & Surgical Relevance — 11th Cardiac Morphology Course, Chennai, August 2021
- Tips & Tricks in Mitral Valve Replacement — IACTS Cardiac CME & Midterm GBM, Chennai, August 2021
- Philanthropy in CT Surgery — inauguration of the Smiling Heart Foundation, Bengaluru, October 2021
- Bentall’s Operation & Vascular Surgery — YOUNG-CATS Forum, Chennai, November 2021
- SAVR and TAVR: Just Jostling Around? — Hybrid Heart Summit, Ahmedabad, December 2021
Papers & Posters
- Aortic Root Enlargement: Short-Term Outcomes from a Decade’s Experience — Dr. Sujith N. S.
- Ruptured Aneurysms of the Aortic Sinuses of Valsalva — Dr. N. Harshavardhan
- Right Atrial Appendage Aneurysms — Dr. Manpreet Kaur
- Long-Term Outcomes of Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease in LMICs — Mr. Aditya Doddamane (AAPCHS, ISMS 2021)
- Posters on aortic root enlargement with CABG, multi-territory arterial disease, Pentalogy of Fallot with HCM, and conduit revision after Rastelli
Conferences
- IACTS SCORE — bootcamp for residents, conducted annually at SSSIHMS (2021 edition)
- 67th Annual Conference of the Indian Association of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgeons
- Attended: Jayadeva Mitral Summit, May 2024; Cardiac Morphology Course, Madras Medical Mission, July 2024
Beyond the Operating Theatre
Sai Leading the Way in Data Sciences
SSSIHMS Whitefield began digitising patient records in 2008–09 on a full Hospital Information Management System. In 2019 the HOD, CTVS initiated a cardiovascular surgery outcomes database, built on open-source platforms by the CTVS Research Associate and the HMIS team, now holding over 23,000 surgical cases. Over 17,000 patients have been contacted and 14,000+ are on regular follow-up — much of it through WhatsApp-based virtual follow-up, tracking patients up to 18 years after surgery.
Inspired by this model, the Indian Association of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgeons adopted the initiative: the National Cardiovascular Surgical Database was launched in February 2021.
Education in Changing Times
When COVID-19 halted surgical training in April 2020, the department launched a virtual masterclass for cardiac surgeons. The first lecture drew 700+ participants and sessions grew to 1,200+, with attendees from 55+ countries. Over 244 sessions, it has logged more than 90,000 viewer hours and about 1,20,000 views — open-access learning for surgeons where resources are limited.
Everyone Must Know CPR
With IACTS Outreach, the department launched a public CPR awareness and training drive on World Heart Day, 29 September 2022 — a session for media personnel at the Press Club of Bangalore on 28 September, and CPR training for SSSIHMS security staff on 29 September.
Healing Little Hearts, UK
As part of the ongoing collaboration with Healing Little Hearts, a 10-member team led by Dr. Ramana Dhannapuneni (paediatric cardiac surgeon) and Dr. Ram Ramraj (paediatric cardiologist) visited SSSIHMS Whitefield from 20 to 26 November 2022.