The cardiothoracic surgical team at VPS Lakeshore Hospital has performed an artificial heart implantation on a 61-year-old woman. It is claimed to be the State’s first artificial heart implant.
The patient, undergoing treatment for dilated cardiomyopathy for the past six years, was admitted to the hospital with cardiogenic shock, breathing difficulty and hypotension in early September. But she had to be put on ventilator support after her condition deteriorated with ongoing heart failure and pulmonary edema.
“She had renal failure and was on continuous renal replacement therapy, had increased liver enzymes due to congested liver, and with multiple supports to maintain blood pressure. Her condition worsened till the option of VA ECMO [an extracorporeal life support system] was suggested by the treating doctor,” said a communication.
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She was sustained on VA ECMO for 20 days and while the kidney and liver functions were brought back to normal, the cardiac function was just 20%. The only option to bring her back to life was a heart transplant but that meant the unpredictable wait for a donor.
This was when an LVAD (left ventricular assist device) implant was suggested. LVAD is a mechanical pump implanted in patients with heart failure which helps the bottom left chamber of heart (left ventricle) pump blood out to the body. The doctors then performed a nine-hour surgery and the patient, the communication said, was stable and safe.
Along with cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Sujith, Dr. Anand Kumar V. (cardiologist) and Dr. M.S. Nebhu (cardiac anaesthesiologist) led the procedure.
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