Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 16: Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (FEHI) achieved yet another milestone by successfully performing a double surgery to correct a left ventricle aneurysm followed by a left ventricular assisting device (LVAD) implant.
This is a unique achievement because it is the first ever recorded case in India of a patient of this age undergoing a procedure of such dual complexity. The team of cardiologists was led by Dr TS Kler, Executive Director, Cardiac Sciences, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute. The patient is making good recovery with improvement in his heart, kidney and liver function in addition to an enhanced nutrition status.
The 74 year old patient, Sardar Amrik Singh, had suffered large anterior wall myocardial infarction (heart attack). He was having recurrent episodes of breathlessness on mild exertion, a classic feature of heart failure. After consulting several hospitals, he was turned away and was told that there were no options for his condition except a heart transplant.
When the patient visited Dr TS Kler, his coronary angiography revealed a 100% blockage of one coronary artery identified as the cause of major heart attack. The patient was diagnosed to be in end-stage heart failure, due to ischemic cardiomyopathy and had features of organ dysfunction, including that of the kidney and the liver.
The patient was evaluated and stabilized by medical therapy. He continued to be in heart failure in spite of the best medical therapy. A decision to do a LVAD implant was taken. Since the patient had a Left Ventricle aneurysm, it posed a high challenge. The doctors had to first repair the Aneurysm. The thin and dilated part was excised and repaired. After this procedure the LVAD was implanted.
Padma Bhushan Dr TS Kler is a pioneer in cardiac electrophysiology in India. He was the one to implant the first ICD (device to prevent sudden cardiac death) in 1995 and then a heart failure device (CRT-P) and a COMBO device (CRT-D) in India.
On being congratulated for the achievement, Dr Kler said, “The success of this surgery makes my mission to work tirelessly in this field of medical sciences to achieve many more victories stronger.”
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