The Department of Cardiac Anaesthesia of G.Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital (GKNM Hospital) organized the 3rd edition of the national level, Live Intra-operative Trans-Esophageal Echo (TEE) workshop. It was held on the theme ‘The Right Heart’ and featured live transesophageal echocardiography sessions broadcast directly from the operating theatre.
Dr.Ragupathy Veluswamy, CEO, GKNM Hospital welcomed the participants and inaugurated the workshop. Dr. P. Chandrasekar, Chairman, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery & Director Cardiac Transplant Services, GKNM Hospital delivered the Inaugural Address.
Pioneers in the field, including Dr.Chandrasekaran from the USA, Dr.Deepak K Tempe from Delhi, Dr.Muralidhar Kanchi from Bengaluru, and Dr. C. Kumar and Dr. Hemamalini from Chennai, served as faculty for the workshop. The organizers, Dr. M. Karthik Babu and Dr. Kaushik Jothinath, stated that the live workshop attracted more than 100 delegates – cardiac anaesthesiologists, cardiologists, and cardiac surgeons from across the country.
Centered on the theme “The Right Heart,” the workshop featured three major cardiac surgeries performed using state-of-the-art 3D transesophageal echocardiography probes and advanced echocardiographic imaging systems. Both preoperative and postoperative TEE findings were discussed in detail.
A unique aspect of the workshop was the live interaction between the audience and the experts inside the operating theatre, enabling delegates to clarify doubts and gain real-time insights during the procedures.
Intraoperative TEE has made cardiac surgery safer & smarter – Dr.Ragupathy Veluswamy
Over the past several decades, TEE has evolved from an emerging imaging modality into an indispensable component of modern cardiac surgery. It provides cardiac anesthesiologists and surgeons with real-time information about the heart before, during, and after surgery.
It helps to confirm the diagnosis, guide surgical decisions, assess the quality of repairs, and identify problems immediately, often before the patient leaves the operating room. TEE allows clinicians to see where they are, confirm that they are on the right path, and make corrections when needed. The result is greater precision, enhanced safety, and better patient outcomes.
As healthcare leaders, one of our responsibilities is to create greater awareness in the public about advances such as these. Today’s workshop is not just an academic exercise; it’s a commitment to excellence, patient safety, continuous learning, and better outcomes for the patients we serve.
Every advance in medicine becomes meaningful when it improves the life of a patient. Intraoperative transesophageal echo has done exactly that, making cardiac surgery safer, smarter, and more successful for countless families and patients across the world.
One of the best in performing TEE – Dr. P. Chandrasekar
GKNM Hospital is incredibly progressive in the field of cardiac surgery, and we celebrated 50 years of cardiac surgery in 2025. We are the oldest private hospital catering cardiac surgery across in the southern region, apart from Chennai. We have performed 40,000+ cases so far, and as we grew we expanded the scope to do complex cases, multiple valve repairs, and the need for an echocardiography was paramount.
I am, proud to say we are one of the top centers in performing Transesophageal Echo. I am very proud that our anesthesia team has taken the challenge and they are marching to reach the pinnacle of what can be achieved in the Department of Cardiac Anesthesia, especially echocardiography, with the support of the echo team.
