Apollo Hospitals Indore – brings new ray of hope to for thousands of Heart Patients – un-fit for Open-Heart Surgery

Indore. Replacement of the aortic valve with a minimally invasive procedure called TAVR performed successfully at Apollo Hospitals, Indore making it the first and only hospital in MP to perform complex valve replacement using the ‘pin-hole’ technique.   

Mrs. Anita (69) (name changed for anonymity) thought the worst was over or her after she had underwent a complex open-heart surgery to replace a faulty valve last year.

However, life took a different turn when she begun experiencing breathlessness, instances of chest pain, unexplained fainting and blackouts from May this year.

Pained with her increasing difficulty she reached Dr. Roshan Rao for a detailed evaluation and it was found that the same heart artificial valve had repeat narrowing or blockage.

Dr. Rao explained in rare but a very small percentage of the cases the newly replaced valve again becomes narrow. Mrs. Anita was one such case who had a narrowed replaced valve which limited her heart’ output and as a result developed renal dysfunction i.e. kidney functions were not up-to the mark.

Such cases his Dr. Sarita Rao added performing a second time open-heart surgery becomes risky and not advisable. Dr. Rao continued, this is where the newer innovations in medical science such as the valves solutions from Medtronic comes in as a blessing. The valve is made up of natural tissue leaflets and does not require a strong blood thinner as in a metal surgical valve.

Unlike an open heart surgery, which is very complex, TAVR is seemingly less complex – achieved through a pinhole incersion in the groin (An artery in leg) where a catheter is inserted first to create a passage through which later the valve is pushed in. Once the new valve is implanted, the catheter is removed and the new valve starts working right away.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Roshan Rao added it was indeed a very tough case and we are immensely pleased that our approach in this case brought us better than expected results. The valve was placed perfectly and the parameters were well within the normal range and there were no post procedural complications.

Patient regained consciousness immediately and was greeted when wheeled out of the Cathlab by members of his family – which was a very satisfying sight for all of us.

Dr. Sai, Sr. Consultant and director TAVR program Apollo Hospital & Research center Chennai, commented that In India about 15 Lakh individuals who suffer from a faulty valve condition. 

TAVR, which is an established standard of care for aortic stenosis in Europe and USA, is now emerging in India as a promising treatment. Dr. Sai Satish is widely recognized as a TAVR cases in India and South Asia and key faculty on various national and international cardiology conferences.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Ashok Bajpai Director, Apollo Hospitals shared it’s a moment of pride for Apollo and the state of MP – to bring within the reach of natives of our state trends, practices and procedures performed by the best hospitals in the world at one tenth of the cost in the west.  I congratulate Dr. Roshan and Sarita Rao and Dr. Sai Satish for making this possible’