CHENNAI, JUNE 3
Kauvery Hospital Chennai on Thursday announced the successful TAVR procedure on an 84-year-old man with multiple heart valve disease.
The procedure which is the first of its kind in the country involved two ‘valve in valve’ replacement using a transcatheter and a pacemaker was also implanted through transcatheter in the same procedure to resolve slow heart beat rate.
Balakrishnan was suffering from multiple heart valve disease which included a severe aortic valve leak, mitral valve leak and moderately leaking tricuspid valve with severe pulmonary hypertension, (high pressure in the arteries of lungs and right side of heart). Also known as the “leaky valve disease”, the condition is where the heart valve does not close properly, causing leakage in the blood flow, pushing the heart to strain further for effective pumping of the blood which would eventually lead to a heart failure or cardiac arrest before approaching doctors’ team at Kauvery Hospital.
- A Valve in valve replacement is done when a previously implanted surgical valve is degenerated or re-narrowed over a period of time
- The procedure through a Transcatheter is a recent advancement, which has been approved for high risk patients initially.
- Two valves used for the patient were indigenously made by a Gujarat-based Meril Life Sciences India Pvt Ltd.
Announcing the successful procedure, Dr R Anantharaman Senior Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Kauvery Hospital Chennai, said, “The man had a history of severe regurgitation (leak) of both mitral and aortic valve and the tricuspid valve which leaked moderately. In 2012, he went through a valve replacement surgery where the aortic valve was replaced with a 21 mm bioprosthetic valve, the mitral valve was replaced with a 31 mm bioprosthetic valve and the tricuspid valve was repaired. A bypass graft to the front of the left anterior descending artery was also performed on him. At this point, the functioning of his heart had significantly reduced and post-surgery, he was sustained on medical treatment.”
Fast forward to this year, he started facing difficulties in breathing and it worsened over a period of 4 to 6 months, to an extent where he was unable to walk or lie flat on his back. “Doctors’ team at Kauvery Hospital examined his condition and his medical history, where the ECHO (Echocardiography) showed a re-narrowing in the aortic and mitral bio prosthetic valves. Considering his age, reduced heart function and the previous surgery we could not afford a repetition of same surgery, due to the high risks involved. After a thorough heart team discussion, we performed valve in valve replacement using a transcatheter (minimally invasive) for both the aortic and mitral valves, which appeared to be the ideal solution. Additionally, we also detected a conduction block in his heart which was resolved by a pacemaker, using transcatheter pacemaker (Micra), added Dr Anantharaman.
A transcatheter procedure for valve in valve replacement is recommended for those who had undergone open heart surgeries with tissue valve, which is failing now and the recovery period in this is faster when compared to a surgery. In this case, the individual was discharged on the third day of post procedure and is doing fairly well.
Aatmanirbhar Bharat
Dr Anantharaman also said that the two valves used for the patient were indigenously made by a Gujarat-based Meril Life Sciences India Pvt Ltd. The valves produced by the company are on par with that of international manufacturing companies. The company is meeting nearly 55 percent of the valves of the country for the last 3 years, said its Deputy General Manager K Vinod.
Addressing the reporters, Ayyappan Ponnusamy, Medical Director of Kauvery Hospital, Chennai said, reaching out the medical advancements to the rescue of patients with the experienced medical experts is the speciality of the hospital.
In a statement, Dr Aravindan Selvaraj, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Kauvery Hospital, Chennai said, “The valve in valve replacement through a transcatheter has been adopted significantly in the west, and it is proved to be safer for high risk patients who had already undergone an open heart surgery. However transcatheter procedures do come with a lot of other risks and complications, which can be handled only by an expert team and the right infrastructure. The procedure was performed in the safest place, which is the Hybrid Cathlab Operating Room under the expertise of the cardiologist and his skilled team. I would like to appreciate our interventional cardiologist, Dr. Anantharaman and team for their remarkable efforts to improve the quality of life.”
