Saved Lives of 3 Patients from Advanced Cardiac Ailments

With recent advancements in technology, treatment for valvular heart diseases has become much safer and minimally invasive.

A 38-year-old was diagnosed with complications in his aortic valve, with heart function of only 20%. "The patient came to us with complaints of breathlessness for months. He was subsequently diagnosed with narrowing of one of the heart valves, the aortic valve. Replacing this heart valve is a very common procedure and is done surgically. Upon evaluating the case and ascertaining the high risk involved in the case, we decided to conduct a Trans Aortic Femoral Valve Replacement (TAVR) as we thought this would be the best approach for the patient. In a TAVR, the valve is replaced via the femoral artery in the leg, without any incision on the patient's chest and without any need to open the heart. We successfully completed the procedure while keeping the patient just on sedation without the need for general anaesthesia. He spent a day in ICU and was discharged on the second day itself post the procedure without any blood transfusion or any large incision on the chest. He was able to get back to all the regular activities of a normal person within a few days without having to follow any precautions in particular." Said Dr Gaurav Mahajan, Director, Cardiac Surgery, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Vaishali

Percutaneous valve implantation for the aortic valve disease (TAVI) is really happening in a revolutionary way. TAVI is already approved by the international guidelines for prohibitive and high-risk patients for AVR. With further refinement in the delivery system with repositionable/ retrievable valves, better conforming design and smaller access sheaths, the safety and success rates are increasing. The new data supports the use of TAVI even in low-risk patients with severe AS. Paving the way for TAVI being an alternative to surgical AVR, something that happened before to CABG when PTCA came.

Results of bypass surgeries have improved from par to excellent and are much safer than before. Also, with advanced modalities, patients rarely require any blood transfusions, which reduces hospital stay and makes a quicker recovery. "Another patient was admitted due to chest pain caused by a heart attack, and the doctors at Max Hospital, Vaishali, conducted a complete course of investigations to find out that he was suffering from Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) involving all his three coronary arteries. Since a large part of his heart had suffered due to complete blockage in all three arteries, his heart function also declined to only 30%. He was a high-risk candidate to undergo bypass surgery, posing a certain risk of life. The team decided to perform a beating heart bypass surgery, which was successfully performed without any complications, and the patient was discharged on the 5th day post-operatively. The patient did not even require any blood transfusions and post surgically, his heart also improved and is working normally. It has been more than three years post his surgery, and he can do all his activities and lives a normal productive life without any fear of heart attacks. His recovery post-surgery was excellent, and he resumed all his work within 2-3 weeks." Said Dr Mahajan.

Another patient was barely able to walk for 500 meters and suffered from severe chest pain. He was then advised to undergo bypass surgery, which was successful. Post surgically, the patient is now able to walk up to 4 km without exertion and has improved his quality of life.

Valve replacement is recommended in cases where repairing the valve is not possible at all. With a diseased valve condition, every step needs to be carefully planned.

The exceptional set of doctors at Max Hospitals considers each case differently and provides treatment methods after thoroughly examining the history and the present condition of the patient. This ensures that the surgery is not the only focus, but a comfortable post-treatment plan is in place as well. TAVR has revolutionised the treatment of valve disease where in

• Without open heart surgery
• Without general anaesthesia
• Without any incision
• Without any blood transfusion