The procedure was conducted by a team of experts led by Dr Ravinder Singh Rao, Vice-Chairman, Rajasthan Hospital & Visiting Cardiologist, Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai
A 93-year-old freedom fighter recently underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedure at RHL-Rajasthan Hospital in Jaipur to replace the main cardiac valve without requiring open-heart surgery. The procedure was conducted by a team of experts led by Dr Ravinder Singh Rao, Vice-Chairman, Rajasthan Hospital & Visiting Cardiologist, Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai, using made-in-India equipment.
The surgery was witnessed live by interventional cardiologists from all around the globe who assembled for an annual conference in Chennai.
Dr Rao said, “A heart 2-D Echo imaging of the patient revealed that she was suffering from aortic stenosis, which refers to the narrowing of the main valve. As a result, the heart had to pump with greater force against narrowed orifice. Gradually, her cardiac pumping efficiency decreased to 25 per cent and fluid started accumulating in the lungs. This made the patient breathless even on minimal activity.”
Elaborating on the TAVI procedure done on the patient, Dr Rao said, “Endoscopic sutures were deployed in femoral (groin) artery. A big size tube was placed through which the valve was crossed and the new made-in-India one was placed inside the old valve. The new valve started functioning immediately. The tube was removed and the sutures were deployed to close the hole in the groin vessel, he said, adding the risk of suffering a stroke during the TAVI procedure was mitigated using a cerebral protection device.”
The technology of this made-in-India valve implant is both cost-effective as well keeping the quality aspect intact.
“Post-surgery, the patient stayed in the ICU for a day before she was shifted to a room. On the fifth day, she walked out of the hospital on her own. She was breathing and sleeping better – that is the miracle of TAVI,” the doctor added.
