CHENNAI: People who had to go through immense risks to get a heart valve in the city have got a reprieve. Doctors have begun using a brand new technique to implant heart valves through an small incision, for people who cannot sustain open-heart surgeries.
The procedure, so far done only abroad, will be a boon to people here, say cardiologists.
The aortic valve, one of the major blood vessels of the heart, could only be implanted through an open-heart procedure thus far. But the new procedure, called the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI), will see a small incision made in the thigh of the patient, after which doctors will use a catheter to deliver the valve to the heart, after which the artificial valve will be implanted, said Dr G Sengottuvelu, senior interventional cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals.
Speaking to Express on the sidelines of the two-day annual conference on Cardiac Interventional Therapy, organised by the Tamil Nadu Interventional Council and Cardiologists Society of India, Dr Sengottuvelu said the procedure will be a huge boon to the elderly, who cannot go for open heart surgery owing to various other health complications. “There are four surgeries done using this procedure and they’re slowly catching up here,” added Sengottuvelu.
Also, the conference saw four live surgeries done during day-one of the conference. Over 200 national and international faculties attended and new technologies in the field of cardiac interventional treatment are set to be discussed through the two days.
The conference was inaugurated by State Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan. Managing director of Apollo Hospitals Preetha Reddy was also present on the occasion.