Over the last two decades, Indian cardiac surgery has experienced a transformation that has made India a world leader in cardiovascular care. What was earlier a specialty reliant on foreign expertise has grown into an independent specialty, conducting more than 200,000 heart surgeries every year with results equal to the world's best medical centers.

This extraordinary development has been caused by three complementary forces, namely seamless merging of complex technologies such as robotic surgery & artificial intelligence-based diagnostics, formation of minimally invasive methods causing lesser trauma to the patient, and above all, the entry of a fresh breed of surgeon who combines technical brilliance with a profound humaneness. Leading the way in this revolution is Dr Nisarga, a senior consultant cardiac surgeon whose groundbreaking methods have pushed the limits of what can be done in heart care. He is the visionary heart surgeon who took open-heart surgery and turned it into an act of deep human connection.

Dr Nisarga's path to becoming a great surgeon began at Sri Siddhartha Medical College, Tumkur, where his brilliant ability at the precision and inventiveness of surgery first came through. After his MBBS in 2000, in pursuit of excellence, he went to the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, from which he graduated in General Surgery in 2003. The major turning point in his academic life came in 2006 when he achieved the top marks in the fiercely competitive All India MCh Cardiac Surgery Entrance Examination, which is a perfect indication of the level of his knowledge of Cardiovascular medicine and his talent to recreate the subject.

Redefining Cardiac Surgery through Innovation

With over 5,000 successful surgeries and mortality rates much below international benchmarks, his results speak volumes. Through charity initiatives, he's performed 200+ free surgeries, each one bearing witness to his belief that ‘in cardiac surgery, the most dangerous complication isn't technical, it's forgetting the human behind the EKG lines’. Now, as the Lead Cardiac Surgeon at KIMS Hospitals, Kondapur and Gachibowli at Hyderabad, Dr Nisarga has spearheaded several path-breaking methods that have revolutionized patient outcomes. His most celebrated innovation came when a Bombay blood group patient not only remained conscious but recited poetry during her 4-hour procedure, a moment Dr Nisarga calls 'the most humbling experience of my

career'. The surgery, performed without general anesthesia or ventilator support on one of only 300 people worldwide with this blood type, became a benchmark in patient-centered innovation.

Similarly innovative is his development of off-pump beating heart surgery, in which coronary bypass procedures can be done without an interruption of the heart or the use of a heart-lung machine. This method has been especially revolutionary for older patients and patients with multiple comorbidities, far decreasing postoperative complications. No less significant is his contribution to minimally invasive valve procedures, where his creative strategies have transformed what were previously major surgeries into minimal trauma procedures with astonishingly brief recovery periods.

The Compassion Technology

Dr Nisarga's genius lies in transforming cold technology into warm compassion. His robotic systems don't distance the surgeon from the patient but become extensions of his healing hands, combining micro-precision with human judgment. He has been a key figure in popularizing robotic-assisted cardiac surgery in the city, employing the sophi-sticated systems not to isolate patients but to attain the precision that enhances outcomes while minimizing trauma. His operating theaters are fitted with the latest 3D imaging and real-time monitoring equipment, but he maintains that these technologies must never override the surgeon's expertise or the restorative properties of human touch. This extends to his acceptance of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The Heart Behind the Science

Maybe the most impressive thing about Dr Nisarga's practice is that he keeps the human touch at the forefront of increasingly mechanized medicine. He spends hours counseling patients on their options regularly, feeling that an educated patient is an empowered healing partner. To Dr Nisarga, the heart is never merely an organ to be fixed it's the hub of a complete human being worthy of warm, personal attention.


Dr Nisarga's philosophy stands out in paediatric cases, as evidenced in the case of a successful 12-hour surgery of a 13-year-old, where he points out that ‘there are no religions in the OR, just beating hearts’. It was also illustrated by his use of an Indian-made valve on an Iranian patient.

Aside from his clinical practice, Dr Nisarga is most passionate about forging the future of cardiac surgery through education. His training programs focus on the fact that the surgeons of the future require three equally developed skills, namely mastery of surgical technique, knowledge of advanced technology, and emotional intelligence to connect with patients as human beings.

A Vision for the Future

In the future, Dr Nisarga visualizes a cardiac care system in which sophisticated technology brings high-standard treatment within reach instead of further out of it. He visualizes artificial intelligence becoming more and more advanced to predict cardiac danger long before it manifests as symptoms, enabling true preventive treatment. He foresees robotic units becoming accurate enough to provide intricate procedures even in small towns and villages. In Dr Nisarga's vision, the true measure of medical progress isn't in technological sophistication alone, but in its equitable distribution. His mission continues not just to repair hearts, but to restore the heart of medicine itself, where every heartbeat matters, regardless of the body it sustains or the wallet that carries it. His vast philanthropic efforts free surgeries for poor patients and raising funds for those who cannot pay for treatment, are a direct result of his strong belief that quality cardiac care is not a privilege but a basic human right.