Bhubaneswar: A team of cardiologists and cardiac surgeons at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital successfully conducted a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) on a 71-year-old woman suffering from acute decompensated heart failure.
Pramila Maharana, from Odisha’s Kendrapada district, was admitted three weeks ago and 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, Cardiology department head Prof. (Dr) Suresh Kumar Behera said on Monday.
The doctors decided to go for Percutaneous Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement after discussion with family members, Dr Behera said at a news conference organised a day before World Heart Day.
This year’s theme for World Heart Day — observed every year on September 29 – is ‘Don’t Miss a Beat’ 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, explained.
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 comorbidities, 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 CTVS department, Dr Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra, professor, Dr Rajendra Satpathy, assistant professor in Cardiology department and Tapas Chaini, senior technician besides nurses and other personnel.
