Bangalore can fix your heart, sans surgery

If you or one of your near-and-dear ones is suffering from aortic stenosis (narrowing of the aortic valve), and are wondering about how to deal with the costs, read on. Cardiac specialists at Bangalore-based Narayana Hrudayalaya, on June 27, will for the first time in India perform a minimally invasive Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) – a procedure to replace (or even repair) the aortic valve that connects the heart to the aorta, the largest artery in the human body.

Dr Sanjay Mehrotra, senior consultant cardiologist, Narayana Hrudayalaya, told DNA that the catheter carrying the replacing valve will be inserted through a tiny incision made on the chest closest to the damaged valve for replacement or repair. Once that is done the catheter is withdrawn and the tiny wound covered.

“Unlike open heart surgery, this entire procedure can be done under local anaesthesia. It will take around an hour-and-a-half to complete the procedure and the patient can be discharged within two-three days,” said Mehrotra.

Presently, the procedure requires an open heart surgery, in which the chest is opened up from two inches below the Adam’s Apple till the navel.

The standard procedure costs anywhere between ¤1.40 lakh and ¤2.25 lakh, besides a much longer post-operative hospital admission for the patient.

“Doctors from India had earlier been exposed to this procedure. But since this is the first time that TAVI will be performed in India, experts from UK will be helping us in the procedure,” Dr Mehrotra said.