By Dr. Surjit Singh Bhatti, Former, Dean-Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (India)
A five-year-old boy in Ferozepur (a town in Punjab) is taken seriously ill and is declared (almost) dead after treatment did not show any results. However, the efforts of a modest local physician, to everyone’s surprise, miraculously succeeded in reviving him. The father, a Sikh Station Master in British-Indian Railways, was so impressed that he decided to motivate his son to become a doctor and serve sick people as a thanksgiving to God. The parents of the boy changed his name from Iqbal Singh to Harvinder Singh, to signify that he had a second birth and a new life. The boy had another very close brush with death when at age eleven he was again presumed dead following a severe attack of malaria. His distraught mother again prayed fervently and fortunately, another medical practitioner saved the boy from the clutches of death.
Nobody, not even his parents, could have imagined that their son will one day become one of the world’s leading cardiologists. Perhaps, the frail-looking but intelligent schoolboy himself may not have foreseen that he would go to the UK and then to the USA and invent medical devices that will save the lives of millions of heart patients. His mother could not have thought that, nearly seven decades later, her son will donate US $ 1.5 Million in her name (to the University of California, Irvine) for the education and healthcare of the people, as also for their awareness and understanding of the philosophy of the Sikhs.
The boy whose life was twice saved by medical science is now Dr. Harvinder Singh Sahota, also popular as Harvey or Harry Sahota. As a renowned US surgeon, dedicated to innovations for the cardiac health of the people, he is affectionately called “Hero of the American Hearts” in America, and a “Mender of Hearts” throughout the world. This energetic Sikh, in all humility, has never failed to visit the Gurdwara in Orange County, California (USA), in gratitude and reverence to Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikhs’ Scripture, and their Eternal Spiritual Guru and Guide. Responding to his mother’s prayers, he believes he has been given a second life to serve others. He was born on 15th April 1941 and started his medical studies at the Government Medical College, Patiala (Punjab), and earned his first medical degree in 1965.
Migration to the UK in 1965
He migrated to the UK and started further studies in1967 at the University of Liverpool. In 1970, he earned his post-graduate degree in cardiology with a specialization in the area of Tropical Medicine. In 1971, Dr. Sahota started his Residency at the University of Cardiff where he specialized in the study of Pulmonary Cardiology (a branch with a focus on the distribution of blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs, back to its left side).
Migration to the USA (University of Rochester, NY)
In 1974, Dr. Sahota got a Research Fellowship in cardiology and went to the USA where he started to work at the University of Rochester in New York. He did most of his first research project at the University of Rochester in 1976. However, he spent one more year in Regina, Saskatchewan (Canada), to complete this project in 1977. In 1978 he returned to the USA and started working at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Los Angeles.
Inventions by Dr. H. S. Sahota
The first invention made by him was that of a Hemostat. It restricts the spillage of blood during surgery. An ultrasonic sensor is mounted with a pressure pad to sense the rate of blood flow through the blood vessel when pressure is applied to obtain minimum bleeding with maximum flow. In 1985, he invented the Perfusion (Angioplasty) Balloon, which has a small hollow and flexible tube with a balloon near its one end. This is placed in the heart artery to lift the cholesterol that blocks the flow of blood. Inflation of the balloon prevents chest pain. After the US-FDA approval, he performed Coronary Angioplasty surgeries in Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, India, and the USA. He next invented Multi-lobe Perfusion Balloon that straightens the artery on inflation, preventing blockages to occur at the bends. He used the Red (IR) Laser Light for the prevention of abnormal narrowing of an artery or valve after surgery, due to tissue growth or trauma (Restenosis). It is treated by placing a drug-eluting fibrin-coated stent in the blocked vessel.
This was followed by his next invention of an apparatus for positioning and puncturing an artery and a vein. A blood flow detector produces a signal in response to pulsations to provide means for positioning a slot in a plate in alignment with an artery. Pressing the plate against the skin retains the artery in alignment with the slot for puncturing. He developed many new catheter systems (from 1987 onwards) to provide blood flow paths past the constricted regions to restore acceptable blood flow. These include side orifices into the main opening to provide a flow path through the catheter. A segmented or lobed balloon forms a flow passage between the catheter and the blood vessel wall. Some systems provide means for inserting a catheter into the coronary arteries remote from the aorta. From 1991-to 2003, he made two-wire and other improved catheters for use in administering treatments.
Publications of Dr. H. S. Sahota
His papers focus on the reconstruction of the arterial wall of the heart with endothelial cells, forming the inner layer of blood vessels that regulate the exchanges between the bloodstream and surrounding tissues. These cells are lost due to restenosis, after balloon angioplasty. The reimplanting of these cells is done by using (fibrin) glue. It is performed using an illuminated thin tube (endoscope), directly inserted to observe and image the interior. A technique (Glue Matrix Reduced Restenosis) was used by him with coronary stenting and intravascular ‘Red Laser Therapy’, for heating a part of the body. He published his work on the development of several new Catheters. He holds a total of 24 US patents.
Awards and Honors received by Dr. H. S. Sahota
Distinguished Physician Awards were presented by the former Indian Prime Minister and The National Federation of Indian-American Associations. He was appointed Commissioner of Medicine for Orange County, California. The Excellence in Medicine Award was given to him by the Global Indian Congress of San Francisco. American Heart Association honored him for his research in Cardiovascular Medicine and Interventional Cardiology. Golden Orange Award was bestowed on him, for his outstanding work, by the World Affairs Council of Orange County.
He was honored with the following two prestigious Fellowships by two American professional societies. FACC (Fellow of the American College of Cardiologists), and FSCAI (Fellow of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions). He is a Board Member of the Metro Hospital, Tbilisi, capital of the Republic of Georgia, and of Claremont Lincoln University, California, USA.
Philanthropic work by Dr. H. S. Sahota
Dr. H S Sahota is assisting the needy in medical treatment and for higher studies. He worked hard to establish the Sikh Museum at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC and is on its Board of Directors. He also gave a donation to the University of California, Irvine. For this, he Instituted a Sikh Chair for research in Sikhism. He is very popular as an efficient heart surgeon. His devices have helped millions of heart patients live longer and healthier lives.
ਸਾਂਝੀ ਵਿਰਾਸਤ 