CARDIOLOGY MEET TODAY
“Dr Rao is one of the authorities in TAVI and he is the only one who knows this technique in Jaipur,” said Dr Sharma. “In government hospitals TAVI has not been performed. Dr Rao taught this technique to our doctors as well.”
SMS cardiologists Dr Sharma, Dr Vijay Pathak and Dr Anoop Jain were with Dr Rao during the procedure.
Dr Rao said TAVI is an expensive procedure as compared to the open heart surgery but for patients who are 65 years or more and who cannot undergo surgery, this is the only option.
Valve replacement through open heart surgery costs around Rs 3-5 lakh. For TAVI, the valve itself costs between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 13 lakh. “The imported valves are expensive but the indigenous one costs Rs 13 lakh,” Dr Rao said.
SMS Medical College principal Dr Bhandari said TAVI is safer than heart surgery – it requires no blood, is safe and there are less chances of mortality. The patient can go home the next day after the procedure, he added. A three-day international meet on structural heart disease and new treatment techniques will begin at SMS Medical College on Friday. Conference organising chief and senior professor of cardiology Dr SM Sharma said discussions will be held on techniques of treatment for congenital heart disease, valve defect, without open surgery valve replacement, heart attack, heart failure, sudden cardiac arrest and coronary artery disease. This conference is being organised in collaboration with Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (RUHS) College and Mahatma Gandhi University of Medical Sciences. “More than 500 representatives from the country and abroad will be attending this conference,” said organising secretary Dr Sunil Kumar Jain. HTC