A team of surgeons of Apollo Hospital in Tiruchi recently saved the life of a 65-year-old man from Thanjavur, who had suffered a ‘free wall rupture’, a mechanical complication after cardiac arrest.
Speaking at a press conference, doctors from the hospital said that free wall rupture of the heart was a rare complication that occurs one to four days after myocardial infarction.
“The patient had already been treated for heart attack in the first week of August in Thanjavur, but had declined to take the recommended coronary angiogram after stabilisation due to personal reasons. Ten days later, he suffered a cardiac arrest while visiting a cardiologist, and was able to receive emergency care there. When tests showed fluid (blood) collection around his heart and valve leakage, his physician referred him to us,” said Sreekanth Bhumana, cardiothorasic vascular surgeon, Apollo Hospital, who led the team of around 16 medical staff in the operations conducted on August 22.
The patient first underwent emergency peripheral bypass surgery (through the thigh vessels) before the chest was opened. Surgeons then cleared 500 ml of blood with clots around the heart, and closed the rent on the left ventricle with special sutures and reinforced felt material.
Following this, the patient’s damaged mitral valve (one of four valves in the heart that keep blood flowing in the right direction), was repaired by surgically inserting a three-dimensional annuloplasty ring. The patient was also treated for age-related ailments and renal issues.
The team said that the patient had recovered after a week of observation, and had returned home to Thanjavur.
“The public should be more aware of their heart function and seek medical assistance at the earliest. Major emergencies can be averted if patients follow their physician’s advice and take the appropriate tests on time,” said Kader Sahib Ashraf, cardiologist.
COMMents
SHARE