CAYMAN ISLANDS - Russell Mellor came from Westport, Massachusetts to the Caribbean with his wife, Diane, for a relaxing vacation but instead suffered a heart attack.
Mellor was quickly transferred from George Town to Health City Cayman Islands, a destination medical center, where he was attended to by the facility's highly experienced heart doctors.
Dr. Binoy Chattuparambil, Senior Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon of Health City Cayman Islands, said of Mellor: "Five of his arteries to the heart were blocked - all very tight blocks. So we decided on the surgery within five days, because he was on blood-thinning drugs that had to wear off from the body."
At first, Diane Mellor felt she should take her husband home, but her opinion changed as she witnessed the expert level of care and attention her spouse was receiving: "When I saw the relationship that was developing with his doctors, the thoroughness of them, I began to realize that this was our best option. This was far better than going to another doctor. And I didn't feel that I would be as comfortable any place else."
The experienced Dr. Binoy, as he is fondly known, calmly described the surgery as smooth, as was Mellor's recovery: "Two hours after surgery he was off the ventilator and within 48 hours he was out of the ICU."
Russell Mellor was quick to agree: "The outcome has been fantastic. I certainly wouldn't want to have any other kind of outcome ... and that's why we came."
Dr. Binoy stressed Health City's successes were rooted in teamwork: "I would say that the credit goes to the team. As you know, cardiac surgery is not a one-man show. You have that dedicated, highly-qualified anesthesiologist, intensive care doctors, the nurses, the physiotherapist. It's because of the team that everything happened like this - a very seamless recovery."
Looking back, Mellor recalled he never thought that a world class cardiothoracic surgery facility would be located in the Cayman Islands. "When I was going to be transferred out from George Town, I had anticipated going to the mainland...the doctors here are just fantastic, and they've built a major facility here. One I think the island will continuously be proud of and continuously get benefit from."
Diane Mellor was similarly impressed with Health City: "I looked at the expertise of the physicians doing the work and I was amazed at how well qualified they were, how many surgeries they had done. So, it's not like you're coming to some place and you know, maybe a doctor has done this a few times. These doctors are super skilled. You couldn't get more skilled physicians."
As Russell Mellor was preparing to head home he spoke like someone figuratively leaving a part of his heart behind: "When I look at the result - this heart will be good for years to come. There won't be any having to redo this, no repeats of this at all. It's an amazing feat, when I look at it, and at the team."
About Health City Cayman Islands
Health City Cayman Islands, the vision of renowned heart surgeon and humanitarian Dr. Devi Shetty, is supported by two major healthcare organizations, Narayana Health and the U.S.-based Ascension, which is that nation's largest faith-based and nonprofit health system, providing the highest quality care to all with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. Health City Cayman Islands provides compassionate, high-quality, affordable healthcare services in a world-class, comfortable, patient-centered environment. Offering healthcare to international, regional and local patients, Health City Cayman Islands delivers excellence in adult and pediatric cardiology, cardiac surgery, cardiac electrophysiology, medical oncology, orthopedics, sports medicine, pediatric endocrinology, neurosurgery, minimally invasive spine surgery, and pulmonology services.
