 Dr
Devi Prasad Shetty, one of India's leading
heart surgeons, is the stuff legends are made of.
Radiating charm and compassion, he has a commanding
presence in the operation theatre, a bedside manner
to die for, and a mission to make quality heart
care affordable to the poor. We had the honor of
interviewing him, and to see first hand, some of
the wonderful work he does, especially with kids.
We were not only impressed with his professional
side and his lighter side, but with the missionary
zeal with which he moves government, private and
corporate individuals / organisations to join him
in the crusade to build heart hospitals in every
state of India.
I understand that you and your team have perfected
the art of assembly heart surgery - can you elaborate
on it?
I wouldn't say perfected, we are still working on
it. We have to reduce the cost of heart surgery
from Rs 2 lakh to about Rs 65, 000, a sum that our
patients can afford. If we want to reduce the cost
of the product by 75% we have to change the way
the product is delivered. There is so much of sophistication
added to all the specialisations with which the
mortality rate can be brought down significantly.
Assembly line heart surgery aims at achieving ZERO
mortality and reducing the cost by 75%. That
is, we can manage a large number of procedures at
lesser cost. Currently at Manipal
Heart Foundation we do 14 to 16 operations a
day.
The West is traditionally the place where people
have been going for treatment. But since the inception
of the Manipal Heart Foundation, more and more people
are coming here for treatment. How has Manipal Heart
Foundation changed this?
There is a slot and someone has to occupy this slot.
At Manipal we have never created the market. There
was a requirement for treatment and we have just
filled in the slot.
Elaborate on your programs to make heart surgery
affordable to poor people?
 If
I am given a choice I would like to treat only the
poor patients. But unfortunately the economic reality
will not allow me to do that. So instead what we
do is, offer 25% of the beds for the rich people
and 75% we leave for the poor. When I say Rs 65,000,
(for a heart operation) not many can afford this
sum. A person earning Rs 5,000 to
Rs 6,000 cannot afford this because the cost of
living in Bangalore is high. So we organise various
fund schemes. We have worked out a very interesting
concept. In this society there are a large number
of people who need help but do not know where help
will be available. And there are a good number of
people with money with the intention to help but
don't know who requires it. We do that intermediary
job. We are the brokers between those who need and
those who have. We have occupied that slot.
If we tell people that we are going to charge one
and a half lakh rupees for an operation, can you
give us 30,000 rupees, does this make any sense?
That person is not going to give us the money. So
we tell him that we are going to operate on this
child and offer our services free. Can you
help us do it? This has worked. A lot of
people have given money.
A good thing that has happened with information
technology and with the opening of the economy
is that good people have started earning money.
Now we see people with honorable intentions becoming
rich. We are getting more and more assistance. A
Bangalore based software individual - for instance
- I showed him around the hospital and he promised
to help. Few hours later he called and offered a
donation of Rs 6 crore (his laughter is that of
pleasure, appreciation and gratitude.)
Not everybody who helps is necessarily rich. I don't
remember spending even 5 minutes with this 60-year-old
patient (a retired nurse) in Calcutta. Her lawyer
calls me, just the other day, to inform me that
she has willed her house in London to me.
Can you tell us more about your programs to help
children with heart ailments?
We started an organisation called Kiddies Heart
Foundation. (Pulls out the poster and points)
- It will take 2 people to cure this 2-day-old baby's
heart. We have the doctor. We don't have the resources.
India conducts the largest number of heart operations
on children in the world. This is so because India
produces the largest number of children with heart
disease in the world. One out of 100 children born
anywhere in the world is born with a heart disease
and we produce the largest number of children in
the world. I operate free. But the associated costs
are still high, so we have started many programmes.
(Click
here for more on Kiddies Heart foundation)
Which other doctors are doing cutting edge research
/ application in your field?
The All India Institute of Medical Science in
Delhi is a very good heart hospital. Research
work is mainly done in Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute
in Trivandrum, Kerala. Dr Velliathan,
the Director of
Sri Chitra Thirunal is doing a good job.
What do you have to say about the fresh candidates
thronging the medical colleges to make 'curing'
their profession? 
Here I would like to talk about job opportunities.
The health care industry of the world is going to
undergo a dramatic change. It is one of the most
inefficient systems all over the world. Extremely
disorganised and under utilised. And
the doctors and the hospitals in India will do the
transformation.
Let me explain - an experienced surgeon with years
of experience behind him in a particular operation
has good results because of the volume of surgeries
he has done throughout his life. We already have
a few young surgeons working with us who are in
their 30s who have already done 2000 to 3000 surgeries.
Now they have 20 or 30 years of active life before
they retire. You cannot imagine where they will
go in the next 10 years. Ultimately the result of
whatever intervention is done depends on the expertise,
and expertise depends on numbers, and in that number
our youngsters are going to be overwhelming the
others. This is because of the volume of patients
this country has. With good administrative back
up, we will be able to set up similar facilities
in UK and US. Sounds hypothetical, but you have
to realize that it is not mere national pride, it
is economical reality. If we have a group of heart
specialists who have 10 times more experience than
the Americans, if we set up a hospital in America,
it is just a matter of time before the Indian doctors
overtake the medical professionals of the other
countries.
 How
involved are you in management strategies? That
is, managing growth, efficiency, and innovations,
all of which your organizations are famous for?
And how close are you towards fulfilling your dream
of a heart hospital in every state of India?
Sitting right here in Bangalore, things are getting
done. For instance, in Calcutta Mr Jyoti Basu
granted us the land lease for the new Heart
Institute within 45 days! It was inaugurated
recently. This country has abundant talent. I don't
think any other country can boast of such a talented
workforce. There are people as clever as me and
also people cleverer than me. I like to associate
with people cleverer than me. People with the right
attitude and...
Competence?
Compassion! Skills will follow. The single most
important characteristic I require is compassion.
There was this Iranian doctor. He was okay&
but when I heard he used to shelter and feed nomads,
you know, travelers, I said&I want that man!
What changes do you anticipate in heart surgery
techniques in the near future? Any science-fiction
type developments on the anvil?
No, no. I am happy with the current technology
available to us, and the human resources. What is
more important in this new millennium is reducing
the cost and increasing the access of people to
quality heart treatment.
-Sonali
Hegde and Mitra Das
Getting
to Know Dr Shetty
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