As a first of its kind surgery in India, a team of doctors led by interventional cardiologist and structural heart disease specialist Ravinder Singh Rao, successfully performed TAVI and TMVR in the same sitting at Jaipur’s Eternal Hospital. The patient, a 55-year-old Indian-Canadian who hails from the city of Chandigarh, underwent two heart valve replacements without an open heart surgery. The procedure resulted in “no complication” and “both the valves started functioning immediately”.
What is TAVI & TMVR?
TAVI stands for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation which is a minimally invasive heart procedure and is conducted to replace a narrowed aortic valve that fails to open correctly. This is a viable option for people who are at immediate or high risk of complications from the traditional surgery procedures. On the other hand, TMVR is a minimally invasive technique to treat a common form of mitral valve leakage. This technique of transcatheter native double valve replacement in the same sitting, is a rare occurrence globally but the doctors here at the Pink City performed it seamlessly.
“This was the first successful TMVR in MAC (Mitral Annular Calcification) in the country and the first case of native transcatheter double valve replacement,” Rao was quoted saying. Dr. Rao specializes in TAVI and TMVR from Mount Sinai, New York and Washington University School of Medicines, St Louis, US.
The 55-yo was suffering from various heart problems, severe aortic stenosis, severe mitral stenosis and severe mitral annular calcification. He was admitted to the hospital under the conditions of heart failure, a history of shortness-of-breath, difficulty in walking and carrying out the daily activities. Usually, patients with such conditions are treated with open heart surgery. But due to his calcification in aorta and chest wall, he was deemed in the high risk category for open heart surgery by more than three surgeons from all across India.
Rao further added, “The aortic valve was replaced using TAVI, and a new valve was placed inside the old valve. The new valve started functioning immediately and had no complications. Substituting the mitral valve in calcified stenosis was one of the biggest challenges. The new valve was placed by going from the femoral vein (found in the leg) under fluoroscopic and echo visualization. The valve was then deployed under rapid pacing following which both the valves began to function. Both the valves started functioning immediately and had no complication.” The son of the patient even mentioned, “it felt unreal to be able to speak to my father immediately after the procedure, and he was with us in the room the very next day.”
Knock Knock
This success story is truly a moment of pride for Jaipur and Rajasthan as a whole. This team of doctors have proven their expertise like none other in the country and we can only hope for further advancements of medical infrastructure in our city for the greater good of our nation.
