Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon Miss Indu Deglurkar recognised for her outstanding surgical outcomes

We are delighted that Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon Miss Indu Deglurkar has been recognised for her outstanding surgical outcomes.

The latest figures from the National Adult Cardiac Surgery Audit (NACSA) show that over a three-year period, Indu had an exceptional crude survival rate of 100% for all elective and urgent adult cardiac operations. The national risk adjusted survival rate is 98.22% — putting her in the top 1 to 2% of positive outliers.

The data was collated and reported by the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR) and Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons in Great Britain & Ireland for a three-year period between 1st April 2019 and 31st March 2022.

Indu said: “It’s excellent news on many different levels. This is not just about my individual outcome, but reflects the performance and skill sets of the entire team.

“This analysis considers the case mix you undertake, the risk scores of the patients and the outcomes as well as highlighting the statistically significant ones. Our hospital has always been above the national average in terms of risk scores, and we have had excellent outcomes. Given the high-risk cases undertaken, it equates to fact that a number of lives have been saved.

“This is also particularly good news as we have just been through the COVID-19 pandemic. Every team in every hospital had to do things differently in terms of optimising service delivery.

“A lot of surgical teams came to a standstill in terms of operating, but we carried on performing as many heart and lung operations as we could. Early on in the pandemic we moved over to University Hospital Llandough and established Green Zones so we could increase the number of elective and urgent surgeries and this report reflects the skill sets of different individuals working together in unchartered territories.”

Indu has been a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board since 2010 and performs a wide range of highly complex adult cardiac surgeries. She has a special interest in Aortic surgery, high risk surgery in the elderly, and a niche interest in heart surgery in patients with severe learning difficulties.

Until 2014, Indu was one of only five female consultant cardiac surgeons in the UK and has won a number of awards for her outstanding achievements, including the Welsh Asian Women Achievement Awards 2013. In 2014, she was also a finalist in the prestigious UK wide Asian Women of Achievement (AWA).

She holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Medical Leadership from Academi Wales and was awarded the Lady Estelle Emerging Leaders Fellowship by the Royal College of Surgeons of England. She has been awarded an SCTS Fellowship to attend an International Leadership Programme at Harvard University and plans to attend later this year.

Indu is also Chair of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery for Great Britain & Ireland and a committee member of Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgeons. She also serves as an independent External Accountability Expert to the Welsh Government on Race Equality.

Speaking about the importance of encouraging more women to join the profession, Indu said: “Slowly but steadily we are seeing more women enter surgery, I know one of the best things we can do to encourage more women is to celebrate positive achievements and help mentor aspiring individuals.”