Ex Former Head, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery · Ex - Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai
Ex Former Head, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery · Nanavati Hospital, Mumbai
For over three decades, Dr. Pavan Kumar has been the surgeon Mumbai turns to when the heart in question is too complex, too weak, or too far gone for anyone else. 99% success rate. Zero mortality, year after year.
AIIMS New Delhi · Karolinska, Stockholm · Harefield, London · Lilavati, Mumbai · Gleneagles, Mumbai · SevenHills, Mumbai
The opening
Somewhere in Mumbai tonight, a family is sitting with a report they don't fully understand, a number called “ejection fraction,” and a doctor's sentence they can't stop replaying. That family is why this practice exists.
Dr. Pavan Kumar is Ex-Head of the Cardiovascular Surgery Department at Mumbai's Ex - Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre and Ex-Head at Nanavati Hospital — a position awarded in April 2024 in recognition of 26 years of practice at the institution, a success rate consistently beyond 99%, and a record of zero mortality maintained year after year.
He is widely regarded as one of the best heart surgeons in Mumbai and among the top cardiac surgeons in India — not because of a title, but because of a number that took 35 years to build: more than 16,000 successful open-heart surgeries, and involvement in over 25,000 major cardiovascular procedures.
Patients come to him from the UK, UAE, Bengaluru, Delhi, Patna, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Ranchi, Jaipur, Nagpur, Jalgaon, Nashik, Solapur, Kolhapur, Dubai, Kenya and Nairobi. Many of them come after somebody else has already said no.
The differentiator
He has heard that sentence 16,000 times. And disagreed.
Most cardiac surgeons decline patients with very low ejection fraction — a heart pumping at 20%, 15%, sometimes less. The risk is real. The refusal is understandable. Dr. Pavan Kumar built a career on precisely these patients.
Surgery for weak heart pumping, where most centres decline.
Repeat bypass on a previously operated heart.
Patients turned down elsewhere.
Including combined valve procedures.
Multi-procedure cardiac operations.
If you have been told surgery is not an option, you have not yet had every opinion.
The making of a surgeon
Post-graduate training in cardiovascular surgery at India's most competitive medical institution.
Years of advanced training in coronary bypass surgery and complex cardiac procedures at the institution that awards the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Homograft surgery, paediatric cardiac surgery, and heart & heart-lung transplantation.
Returns to India as Consultant Cardiac Surgeon.
Moves to Mumbai. The city becomes home.
Joins as Honorary Consultant Surgeon.
Heads the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery. Founds the Department of Telemedicine, which grows into the largest telemedicine service provider in Western India.
Appointed in recognition of a 99%+ success rate and a sustained zero-mortality record.
A go-to surgeon for complicated heart surgeries and heart valve surgeries in India
Forty years of training for the four hours that matter to your family.
Surgical expertise
Thirty years. Every procedure in modern adult cardiac surgery. One surgeon.
Recognition
Navbharat Health Award
Arogya Ratna Samman 2024
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Health Award 2023
Healthcare Brand Icon Award 2023
Outlook Health
Times Healthcare Leaders 2022
Atal Achievement Award 2022 (MAHA)
Beyond the operating theatre
Founded by Dr. Pavan Kumar, because a heart emergency shouldn't begin with a Google search.
Established under his leadership. It became the largest telemedicine service provider in Western India, bringing cardiac consultation to patients hundreds of kilometres from a cath lab.
In leading international and national cardiovascular surgery journals, presented at conferences across the world.
His former registrars now operate in cities across India and abroad.
Indore, Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Varanasi, Patna, Ranchi, Udaipur, Jaipur, Goa and Nagpur.
A surgeon saves one heart at a time. A teacher saves thousands.
The human part
Ask his patients what they remember, and it is rarely the surgery. It is the consultation where nobody rushed them. The scan explained in plain Marathi, Hindi or English. The mobile number that was actually answered. The follow-up call that came without being asked for.
Heart surgery is frightening because it is unfamiliar. Dr. Pavan Kumar's practice is built on removing the unfamiliarity — walking every patient and every family through exactly what is wrong, exactly what will be done, and exactly what recovery looks like.
No jargon. No pressure. No surgery that isn't necessary.
Symptom prompt
Watch for these signs of heart failure and speak to a specialist without waiting:
During activity, at rest, or when lying flat.
In the ankles, feet or abdomen.
Often a sign of fluid retention.
Reduced tolerance for stairs and walking.
Where to meet him
35, Dr. Ernest Borges Road, Opposite Shirodkar High School, Parel, Mumbai 400012
Marol Maroshi Road, Andheri East, Mumbai 400059
A-791, Bandra Reclamation, Bandra West, Mumbai 400050
All appointments: +91 9820160600 · info@drpavankumar.in
Final word
Whether you need a bypass, heart valve replacement, a complex procedure — or simply a second opinion on a report that has kept you awake — one conversation will tell you more than another week of searching.
Dr. Pavan Kumar M.S., M.Ch. (Cardiovascular & Thoracic), F.I.A.C.S. — Former Head, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai · Ex-Head, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital.
FAQ
Dr. Pavan Kumar is among Mumbai's most experienced bypass surgeons, with over 16,000 open-heart surgeries and a 99% success rate. He heads Cardiovascular Surgery at Ex - Lilavati Hospital and specialises in arterial-graft CABG, beating-heart surgery and redo bypass procedures.
In many cases, yes. Dr. Pavan Kumar is one of India's leading specialists for bypass surgery in patients with poor ejection fraction and weak heart pumping — including patients declined elsewhere. A review of your angiography and echo report is the first step.
Yes. Patients across India and abroad send reports for a second opinion before heart surgery. Call +91 9820160600 or email info@drpavankumar.in.
Ex - Lilavati Hospital (Bandra West), Gleneagles Hospital (Parel), SevenHills Hospital (Andheri East) and
A bypass technique performed while the heart continues to beat, avoiding the heart-lung machine. It can reduce complications and shorten recovery for suitable patients.
Yes — mitral, aortic and tricuspid valve repair and replacement, including combined valve and bypass procedures.
Same number, any of the four hospitals. We usually respond within the same working day.
