Indigenous heart valve a feather in SMS crown

JAIPUR: Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital has become the first government hospital in north central India to use an indigenous heart valve. The valve was replaced through a catheter inserted in the patient’s thigh.

Conventionally, heart valves are replaced through open heart surgery.

SMS Medical College principal Dr Sudhir Bhandari said SMS Hospital performed this procedure free of cost. “We are the first government hospital in north central India to use the indigenous valve through the trans catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) t echnique,” he said.

He said the aortic valve of a 65-year-old man from Sikar district was changed using TAVI technique on Wednesday.

Senior professor of cardiology in SMS Medical College, Dr SM Sharma, said the patient was facing problem of breathlessness on walking. “During investigation, we found that his aortic valve had become narrow, compromising blood flow. He also had kidney problem and the pumping capacity of his heart was less,” he said.

Doing an open heart surgery on him to replace the valve would have been risky so a new valve was implanted using TAVI technique, Dr Sharma said.

In India, very few cardiologists are performing this procedure. Jaipur-based Dr Ravinder Singh Rao is one of them. He has performed more than 150 such procedures in two years. The SMS Hospital called him to perform the procedure.

“I am an alumnus of SMS Medical College and it was a proud moment for me to perform the procedure there,” said Dr Rao, who works with Eternal Hospital.