Doctors from Asian Heart Institute at Mumbai [Images], who performed the bypass surgery on the Prime Minister at AIIMS here, brought their own equipment as they did not want to take any chances with the compatibility and availability of instruments.

"We took all the equipment (needed for the surgery) -- needle holders, ring forceps, etc. We did not have much time to check whether they were all available there or not. We did not want to take any chances because he is the prime minister," Dr Pradyot Kumar Rath, one of the surgeons of the team, told PTI.

"Our anaesthetist and intensivist were all there before. They had seen the case. We have taken all the general apparatus and necessary equipment, even the sutures, because we did not want to take any chances," said Rath on telephone from Mumbai.

The 11-member team comprising anaesthetists, ICU specialists and nurses led by cardiac surgeon Dr Ramakant Panda, came with about 20 boxes of equipment from Mumbai to perform the coronary artery bypass surgery on the prime minister on Friday.

Rath said when a surgeon operates in a different hospital then everything has to be explained to the anaesthetist and the nurse.

"As we did not have time for that, therefore our whole team came to Delhi [Images]," he said.

According to AHI doctors, when a surgeon performs an operation in a different hospital, compatibility with the support staff and equipment is always an issue.