A Delhi hospital performed a rare surgery in which an artificial heart (LVAD) of a 56-year-old patient from Iraq was removed through a complex procedure after his ailing heart was found to have recovered completely, hospital authorities claimed on Tuesday.
Dr Ajay Kaul, Chairperson of Fortis Heart and Vascular Institute, Noida, and his team of medical experts performed an extremely rare surgery, in which a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) of the Iraqi national was removed. The device was inserted in the patient in the year 2018.
So far, there are only a few such cases have been reported worldwide. Fortis Hospital Noida has created a record by successfully performing the first surgery of this kind in India and saving the patient's life.
"On presentation, the 56-year-old patient from Iraq had terminal heart failure. He was extremely breathless and could not do routine activities like taking bath without help. Since no surgical procedure was possible, he was put on the heart transplant list," the hospital said in an official release.
While waiting for the donor heart, the patient's condition started deteriorating and became so critical that he required life-saving machines to keep him alive. It is then that we decided to put him on the LVAD or artificial heart.
Dr Ajay Kaul said: "The insertion of the LVAD went well, and the patient recovered completely. The patient was discharged from the hospital after two weeks and on follow up we found that the heart support system was functioning well. He was then sent back to his country and was asked to come for a follow up every six months. He was doing very well, but after one and a half years he developed a driveline infection. We tried to treat it and during a routine checkup we found that his heart had recovered completely."
He added, "The fact that his heart had recovered completely was uncommon. However, since it had, we reduced the speed of the pump. His heart was still functioning at optimum capacity, but we kept the pump running to be on the safe side. We asked him to come again after six months for a follow up. We observed him over next one year as we wanted to be very sure that the heart is functioning well without the support of the pump. It was decided after due consultation with the patient that the artificial heart would be explanted. The explantation procedure was carried out at Fortis Hospital Noida. It is a novel surgical procedure which was conducted for the first time in India successfully and the patient was discharged within five days and is doing very well."
Mohit Singh, Zonal Director, Fortis Hospital Noida said, "This explantation operation is a landmark procedure. It has been conducted for the first time in India at Fortis Hospital, Noida and the esteemed panel of cardiac doctors under the able and experienced leadership of Dr Ajay Kaul has been able to give a new life to the 56-year-old Iraqi patient. I applaud the team for their continued commitment towards clinical expertise and patient care and making Fortis Noida a centre of excellence for Cardiac Sciences."
( With inputs from ANI )
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