KOCHI
Doctors at the Rajagiri Hospital here have performed Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI through upper limb) on a 74-year-old male patient from Kottayam.
The patient was admitted to the hospital with severe breathlessness, swelling of upper limbs, chronic lung disease, uncontrolled diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. On evaluation, he was diagnosed with Aortic Valve Stenosis, a condition where one of the the main heart valves does not open fully, which reduces or blocks blood flow from the heart into the main artery and to the rest of the body, according to a release issued here.
An open heart surgery was not recommended as he had undergone a bypass surgery a few years ago and also considering his age and co-morbidities. The team found that TAVI through lower limbs was not feasible as the blood vessels in his groin were blocked. The procedure was done successfully through upper limb arteries despite the risks involved.
