A HEART SAVING HERO
DR. NAMAL GAMAGE COMPLETES 20, 000 HEART BYPASS SURGERIES
Roman philosopher Cicero once said “in nothing do men approach the gods, than in giving health to men,” to emphasize the dutiful role of a doctor, which is next to divinity. In a fast commercializing time where the existence of doctors with such moral obligations is questionable, the Daily Mirror met a hero who had healed thousands of hearts. Senior Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. Namal Gamage of the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle, who had been practicing for the past two decades, has set a record by completing over 20, 000 heart bypass surgeries or medically known as Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG).
Since the inception of CABG or heart bypass surgeries in Sri Lanka in early 1990’s, over 30 such surgeons in both 10 state and private hospitals had carried out over 50, 000 surgeries up to now. And it is remarkable to note that as an individual surgeon Dr. Gamage had performed two fifths of the total figure. Explaining the reasons behind his exemplary achievement Dr. Gamage said the key factor was his sheer commitment towards his profession and his patients as a practicing surgeon in a state hospital than a doctor whose chief focus is much on the profits generated through private practicing. “I started my career in late 1990’s when I returned to country after completing my medical studies in Wales, United Kingdom. That time there was only one cardiology unit which was at the Colombo National Hospital,” he said. I remember how heart bypass surgeries were introduced to Sri Lanka under the guidance of medical experts in Apollo Hospital in Chennai. Chief Cardiac Surgeon of Apollo Hospital Dr. M R Girinath had conducted workshops for local cardiac surgeons at Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital and I attended those seminars. When I was instructed to initiate two cardiology units in Kandy and Karapitiya Hospitals I took the responsibility to start one in the Karapitiya Hospital in 1998. We had to start from the scratch as there was not a single equipment to do so and no willing body from the government to help. I somehow started with three cardiac monitors, ventilators, syringe pumps, sucker machine and cardiac beds which are required for the hospital intensive care unit. I still remember the sort of assistance given by then health ministers Richard Pathirana and Nimal Siripala de Silva to initiate the only cardiology unit to the entire Southern Province. And within the first three months of 1998 I have been able to perform 50 heart bypass surgeries and 49 of them were successful. In the first three years in 1998, 1999 and 2000 I was able to conduct 200 surgeries each year but the growing list was so high that 700 new cases registered with the hospital every year. However, with utmost commitment I have managed to bring the hospital waiting list to zero by year 2008 and at that period I have performed from 700 to 1, 000 surgeries per year. The secret behind this performance was when other cardiac surgeons perform one to two heart bypass surgeries a day, I used to do four. I start my first operation at 3.00am and by 12.00 noon concludes about three to four surgeries. Then at noon I retire to my home where I love to spend time cultivating paddy in a special field prepared in my domestic compound. I don’t have an intricate lifestyle but would live my life in a very simple manner. At my leisure I would love to listen to classical music and I retire to bed early so that I could start my next day very early. Dr. Gamage who had spent over 20 years in the government sector practicing and that too only in the Karapitiya Hospital says that he performed all these surgeries only for a minimal monthly salary. “When many surgeons nowadays earn at least Rs.100, 000 per operation in private practice we are doing our job for the simple government wage, which is one tenth of a private practitioner,” he said. Dr. Gamage who is on the verge of his government practicing age is considering doing private practicing for the first time at Cooperative Hospital Galle, which is the best of its kind from the entire country. “Before I started practicing at the Cooperative Hospital in Galle I made sure that its Heart Centre be established upto the highest standards of a government hospital cardiology unit. With my experience in initiating cardiology unit in Karapitiya Hospital the Heart Centre in Cooperative Hospital commenced its operations two years back, where I have performed 500 surgeries by now,” the doctor said. Dr. Gamage said presently there are about 10 cardiac surgeons practice in state hospitals as five surgeons in the Colombo National Hospital, three at Lady Ridgeway Hospital, three at Kandy Hospital, two at Karapitiya Galle, two at Kurunegala, two at Anuradhapura, two at Jayawardenapura and one at Jaffna Hospital. Coronary disease had been identified as the leading cause of death in Sri Lanka. Out of 60% patients who are in the hospital waiting lists for bypass surgeries die every year and at least 2% patients die during the CABG. “It is not the number of surgeons we have in hand that matters a lot to cut the ever increasing waiting lists of innocent heart patients in the country but the amount of commitment we put as surgeons to bring those figures to a minimal,” he stressed.