Doctors at Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre performed their first minimally invasive heart valve replacement procedure on a 71-year-old patient here on Monday.
Senior interventional cardiologist N. Ganesan said the procedure that sets out to replace a narrow aortic valve was completed in about 45 minutes under local anesthesia.
“The Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement method was implemented. Here, an artificial valve is taken through a blood vessel either from the groin or the leg and threaded all the way to the heart where the diseased valve is located,” he said.
In usual circumstances, a severe aortic valve stenosis (where the valve reduces from the ideal four sq cm to one sq cm) was treated by performing a major open heart surgery where the chest and heart were exposed.
“Open heart surgeries may not be suitable for all people as some patients with infections or weak lungs do not have high survival rates and often suffer from complications,” Dr. Ganesan said.
The operation was earlier suggested for those who had 10% to 20% life risk during the surgery. Now, those with lesser risk too could undergo the procedure.
The surgery comes at a high cost as around ₹12.5 lakh was needed to purchase an Indian-made artificial valve. “As soon as more people begin manufacturing more such valves, the surgery’s cost will definitely reduce,” he said.
