Bhubaneswar, Sep 28: A multi-specialty team comprising cardiologists and cardiac surgeons at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital here have successfully conducted a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) on a 71-year-old woman suffering from acute decompensated heart failure providing an innovative alternative to patients who could not undergo open heart surgery.
The patient Pramila Maharana belonging to Kendrapada district had been admitted into the hospital three weeks ago and was diagnosed with very severe aortic stenosis as her heart was able to function at around 20 to 30 per cent of its capacity while the blood pressure was very low, Prof. (Dr.) Suresh Kumar Behera, Head of Department of Cardiology in the hospital, said on Monday.
Keeping the condition of the patient in view, it was decided to go for Percutaneous Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement after discussion with the family members, Dr. Behera said at a news conference organised a day before observance of the World Heart Day.
World Heart Day is observed on September 29 every year with this year’s theme being ‘Don’t Miss a Beat’ led by the World Heart Foundation to highlight hidden symptoms of cardiac disease and create cardiovascular disease awareness.
“This is an innovative procedure which includes putting a heart valve in place through femoral artery without any incision on the chest,” Dr. Gyana Ranjan Nayak, Assistant Professor in the department, said explaining the technique adopted by the team.
Dr. Nayak said the patient was able to move around within two to three days after which she was discharged from the hospital. “Because it is an innovative procedure, it requires meticulous planning and pre-operation CT scan,” he said adding it carried less risk than open heart procedure and provided better quality of life.
Describing the TAVR procedure as very useful for elderly patients with co morbidities or those who wanted to avoid open heart surgery, Prof. (Dr.) Behera said IMS and SUM Hospital had a highly trained team to conduct the procedure. The team comprised Prof. (Dr.) Asutosh Samal, Head of Department of CTVS, Dr. Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, Professor and Dr. Rajendra Satpathy, Assistant Professor in the Cardiology department and Tapas Chaini, Senior Technician besides nurses and other personnel.
