T.N. was first to introduce TAVI in govt. hospital: Health Minister

Two persons have undergone the procedure free of cost

CHENNAI, 27/02/2019 : For City Desk : Tamil Nadu Health minister C.Vijayabaskar honour improved cardiac patients during the first state government led TAVI programme at Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital, Omandurar Estate in Chennai on Wednesday. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam / The Hindu

Tamil Nadu was the first State in the country to introduce Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) in the government sector, Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar said on Wednesday.

TAVI was launched at the Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital (TNGMSSH), Omandurar Estate, in November 2018. Two persons — Nallasamy, 67, of Karur and Subburam, 73, of Virudhunagar — underwent the procedure free of cost.

The procedures were performed by A.B. Gopalamurugan and Prashant Vaijyanath from HeartTeam India, Kauvery Hospital, along with a team at TNGMSSH headed by G. Karthikeyan, head of department, Cardiology. The Minister said they entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with HeartTeam India to perform the procedure for patients at TNGMSSH.

Advantage of TAVI

Conventionally, an open heart surgery is performed for replacing the aortic valve for treating aortic stenosis. But not all patients such as the elderly are fit to undergo open heart surgery. This is where TAVI helps as in this procedure the valve is replaced through a keyhole procedure from the groin, doctors explained.

“The procedure costs ₹20 lakh to ₹25 lakh in the private sector, while it is done free in the government sector,” Dr. Gopalamurugan, senior consultant interventional cardiologist, said.