MADURAI: Following minimally invasive heart valve replacement procedure, the Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre (MMHRC) in Madurai has successfully replaced a heart valve without doing any surgery for a 71-year-old patient recently.
The cardiology team of this leading hospital in south Tamil Nadu had done this through TAVR method – Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement – which is approved for patients above 60 years of age.
PRESS MEET IN MADURAI:
Talking to reporters at a press conference here on November 6th 2019, a team of senior interventional cardiologists – Dr.R.Sivakumar, Dr.M.Sampath Kumar, Dr.S.Selvamani and Dr.N.Ganesan, have explained that TAVR is a procedure of replacing one of the heart valves without doing surgery and here an artificial valve is taken through a suitable blood vessel from the groin or leg and taken to the site of the diseased valve.
“Only in August this year, the FDA of USA has approved TAVR procedure for people who are above 65 years age and are in low risk category….Following this, the senior interventional cardiologists in our hospital performed that procedure on a 71-year-old heart patient who did not have surgical risks,” the cardiologists said.
“GAME CHANGER, FIRST IN SOUTH TN”:
Dr.N.Ganesan described the TAVR procedure as a game-changer in heart care and it is similar to angioplasty. “The blood loss is minimal….recovery is fast and can be discharged in 48 hours,” he added.
According to Dr.M.Sampath Kumar, 13 per cent of population in India have heart problems and the latest valve replacement method will be very helpful.
Dr.P.Jayapandian, Consultant Electrophysiologist, MMHRC, informed reporters that an indigenously ‘Made in India’ heart valve MYVAL was used to treat this particular patient.
“Though the cost pf TAVR procedure is right now expensive, the cost is expected to come down drastically in near future due to growing demand, technology advances and local production,” said Dr.N.Ganesan.
