City doctors perform rare surgery
CHENNAI: A first-of-its-kind robotic-assisted double valve replacement heart surgery was performed at the Chettinad Health City here.
The hospital authorities claim that it is the first surgery of its kind at the world level.
The surgery was performed on a 23-year-old man, from a village near Kumbakonam, on February 21 by a team of doctors led by Dr R Ravi Kumar, Director, Institute of Cardio Vascular Disease.
Speaking to Express, Dr Ravi Kumar said that robotic-assisted cardiac surgery was introduced for the first time in the year 2000 in the US and the first such mitral valve was repaired by Dr.Chitwood in USA. “Single valve repair and replacement have been successful. But this is the first time double valve procedure has been done,” he said. “This particular case became more challenging because both the valves had to be replaced simultaneously,” Dr Ravi explained.
Dr Ravi said that while the single valve surgery was done in the year 2000, the double valve procedure were to happen only 11 years later.
The patient had rheumatic valvular disease, because of which he complained of breathlessness and could not walk for more than 10 to 15 feet. Using robotic assistance, both valves were removed and replaced with mechanical mitral and aortic valves, Dr Ravi said.
Robotic surgery has several advantages such as minimal invasion, less tissue damage, no bone-cutting and speedy recovery, he added.