NEW DELHI: Doctors at Safdarjung Hospital successfully performed a heart valve replacement surgery on a 68-year-old using a minimally invasive technique, which the authorities claim is the first such procedure in a central government hospital.
“Earlier, this was done in the GB Pant Hospital, but it was on a trial basis. Safdarjung Hospital is the first central government hospital to do this. Apart from that, private hospitals have earlier done transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). But compared to private hospitals, the cost of the procedure here is much less,” said Dr Preeti Gupta, a cardiologist at Safdarjung Hospital.
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement is a minimally invasive procedure for aortic stenosis, a condition of narrowing of a major heart valve. This procedure is preferred for those who for whom open-heart surgery and anaesthesia are determined to be risky.
Under the supervision of Dr Sandeep Bansal, head of the cardiology department, Safdarjung Hospital, along with Dr Preeti and Dr Anubhav Gupta, the surgery was conducted and the damaged aortic valve of the patient was replaced with a new one.
“It was a complicated surgery; the patient was earlier refused a normal procedure. Rajveer was in the ICU for three months and was declared inoperable through open-heart surgery. He was presented with severe narrowing of the aortic valve, a deformity of the spine and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Due to this, he weighed only 40 kg,” said Dr Bansal.
“The patient would faint 2-3 times a day because of the disease, and if not treated, he might not have survived for more than a month. The surgery was completed within two hours and the patient was also discharged in a short span of time,” he added.
Dr Bansal said the procedure could relieve symptoms of aortic valve stenosis and improve survival in people who can’t undergo surgery or have a risk of suffering surgical complications.