Jipmer replaces valve without opening the heart

Procedure involves passing a catheter through incision

Class act: The team of Jipmer doctors that performed the rare heart valve replacement procedure.

A team of experts at Jipmer performed the first heart valve replacement procedure without opening chest.

Termed as Trans-catheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), the procedure involves passing a catheter with a new valve through a small incision in the groin to replace the diseased heart valve.

The rare feat was achieved by the combined team effort of Departments of Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgery and Anaesthesia, Jipmer said.

The procedure was done for two patients who belonged to poor families in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.

The patients suffered from severe aortic stenosis, a condition which had prevented blood flow from the heart to other organs in the body.

The patients were elderly and were considered to be at a high risk for the conventional open-heart surgery.

Through this minimally invasive procedure, these patients get a new lease of life.

The clinical team comprised Dr. Ajith Ananthakrishna Pillai and Dr. Santhosh Satheesh, Dr. Raja. J. Selvaraj from Cardiology, Dr. Sreevathsa KS Prasad from Cardiac Surgery and Dr. Satyen Parida from Anaesthesia.