KGMU docs correct rare heart disorder despite all odds

LUCKNOW: Doctors in the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS) department of King George’s Medical University operated upon a woman for a rare disorder despite incorrect diagnosis, that too at an expense less than what the surgery of the disorder costs.

The diagnosis was leakage in a heart valves while the disorder diagnosis at the operating table was ascending aortic dissection. The heart valve leakage is repaired with a different method for about ₹40,000, while a tube needed to repair the ascending aortic dissection alone costs ₹1.5 lakh.

“The 35-year-old woman came to me a few weeks ago after being diagnosed with leakage in the valve and we planned a valve replacement. Inside the operation theatre also we started the procedure but when we reached the problem area the picture was different,” said Prof Ambrish Kumar, who operated upon the patient with a team.

By then the woman’s heart was supported by a heart lung machine and preparation was done to replace her heart valve as per the diagnosis made earlier. The doctors saw that the leakage was not from the valve but from the inner wall of the aorta which was seen as heart valve leak in the tests done.

“We had no choice but to reshape the surgery but the biggest problem was we had not taken inside the operation theatre the prosthetic tube which is used to repair aortic dissection,” said Prof Kumar. Aortic dissection can simply be understood as a situation when an injury to the innermost layer of the aorta allows blood to leak between the layers of the aortic wall.

“We had only a few minutes to complete the operation. What we did was to make a tube with the help of a decron patch which is usually used to in other heart surgeries. The shape of the patch was changed to make it in to a tube,” said Prof Kumar. “The operation is successful. The patient is fine now,” said Prof Kumar. Ascending aortic dissection happens to three in one lakh.