In what could be a ray of hope for patients who are not medically fit for an open heart surgery, a team of 12 doctors conducted country’s first ever “no cut-no stitch valve implant” on an 80-year-old woman in Medanta Medicity hospital.
The procedure is being tried and tested in Europe, US, Australia and Singapore. While, it is yet to be approved in India, a special permission was taken from the Drug Controller-General of India (DCGI) for this particular case, disclosed Dr Praveen Chandra, chairman of the division of International cardiology, Medanta Heart institute who led the team of doctors and performed the country’s first Fully Percutaneous Valve Implant (PVI) on the patient with faulty valve.
Usually, patients having defective valve require to undergo an open heart surgery, where the thoracic cavity is cut open to implant a new valve. However, this heart valve replacement surgery is not recommended to a patient above 65 years of age and patients with frail lung condition.
In this advance technique, a small puncture is done in the groin vessels with or without anaesthesia depending on the condition of the patient.
The prosthetic valve makes its way to heart through lower limb blood vessels. The valve implant is positioned over the diseased one, with help of X-Ray guidance. Earlier, PVI was done by inserting valve through groins by making a cut.
“The technique has been tried and tested in various countries and about 50,000 such procedures have been done in various parts of the World. In India too a study is underway to attain necessary approval from the government,” Dr Chandra told this newspaper.
“This case was done with special permission on humanitarian grounds as the patient was not fit to under go open heart surgery,” Dr Chandra told this newspaper.
Elaborating on the procedure, Dr Chandra said, “This procedure will usher in new phase in heart treatments in India. Unlike surgery, it doesn’t require cutting open of chest wall and heart which requires three months for complete recovery. This procedure takes up to one hour and the patient is fit to go home in four days.”