A cardiac team at Kauvery Hospital, Chennai, has carried out a simultaneous aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) in a 69-year-old man with the rare Bombay blood group, completing the high-risk operation without the use of blood transfusions. The patient is reported to be recovering well. The patient had severe calcific aortic stenosis, which significantly obstructed blood flow from the heart, along with advanced coronary artery disease causing reduced myocardial perfusion.
Given the dual pathology, clinicians opted for a combined valve replacement and bypass procedure. The case posed an additional challenge due to the patient’s Bombay blood group, one of the rarest blood types globally, reported in roughly 1 in 10,000 individuals in some regions of India and only about 0.007% in South India. Because compatible donors are extremely scarce, the surgical team…
