Chennai: With his heart valve bulging like a balloon, a 40-year-old farmer was admitted to the government general hospital.
The patient who underwent a complex heart valve replacement is now ready to be discharged.
Doctors claim that they are confident of dealing with such complicated cardio cases of people at relatively little cost.
Doctors said heart valve replacement surgery has 40 per cent chances of mortality rate if not done with precision and expertise.
“The operation posed many challenges as the diseased ascending artery also needed a replacement along with the aortic valve. We have not encountered a case with a bulging valve so far. The inflation is as much as 6 cm with a normal aortic heart valve around 2-3 cm in diameter,” said Dr N. Nagarajan, cardiothoracic surgeon.
The surgery, which lasted over seven hours, is surgically similar to that performed at a private hospital recently in the city. “A private hospital had performed a replacement of the aortic valve on an already transplanted heart. This performance of our surgeons’ team gives us confidence that we are no less compared to high-tech corporate hospitals,” added the surgeon.
While speaking to mediapersons, the doctors said the age of the patient had a positive impact.
“It is difficult to perform such an operation on an older person as the connecting tissues will not suit such a complex operation,” said Prof K. Rajavenkatesh, head, cardiothoracic surgery.
A team of eight doctors, including four surgeons and anaesthetist, are monitoring the recuperating patient round-the-clock.
“The major issue we tackled while giving anaesthesia is maintaining the blood flow to the brain. If there is a compromise in that part, it will lead to neuro-psychotic problems,” explained Dr Lakshmi, chief anaesthetist.
