Medical marvel!

Dr PLN Kaparthy, Director Cathlab Apollo Hospitals, Hyderguda said that the severely narrowed calcified aortic valve in an 80-year-old man with multiple comorbid medical illness was treated with valve implantation by percutaneous technique without sutures.

“He will be discharged in two days,” said the doctor, who was speaking at a presser about the innovative procedure on Thursday. “This problem normally arises due to ageing, as the valve gets calcified and the blood flow passage gets narrow.

This leads to heart enlargement and the normal blood pumping function of the heart gets impacted. Open heart surgery is the option to treat such patients. But this patient was rejected for open heart surgery and valve replacement due to high risk because his advanced age, weak heart; he had undergone a bypass surgery and redo surgery is not advisable on the same patient and his co-morbid conditions,” he said.

For such patients TAVR is a boon with good results, as it is minimally invasive, done through a small aperture in the groin and anaesthesia is used for a short period.

The patient, Prabhakar said, “I was suffering from the problem for the past two and half years, but in the last six months I couldn't sleep, had severe breathlessness, couldn't take a sip of water, eat, life was miserable. Though the doctors here assured me that I will better after this procedure, I was apprehensive. But now I feel much better and comfortable.”

Dr V Surya Prakash Rao, Head of the Department of Cardiology; Dr ASVN Rao, Dr Srivastav, Dr R Vishwnath, Dr Kanthilal Shaw, Dr Satyajit Mahetre and Head of Cardio Thoracic Surgery Dept., Dr Venkata Reddy, anaesthetist Dr Shyam participated in the procedure.