City Docs Save Woman With Congenital Heart Defect Without Open Surgery
Nagpur: In a groundbreaking development, Nagpur-based doctors performed a rare and highly advanced heart procedure that saved a young woman's life — without open heart surgery.
The patient, born with a complex congenital heart defect known as Blue baby syndrome (Tetralogy of Fallot or TOF), a condition wherein a baby's skin turns bluish due to lack of oxygen in blood, had undergone a major open-heart surgery as a child. Now an adult, she recently became severely unwell due to a leaking heart valve and needed another major surgery.
Instead of undergoing another high-risk open-heart operation, she received a minimally invasive treatment — much like angioplasty — through a vein in her leg.
Incredibly, the patient was able to walk and talk just an hour after the procedure and was ready to go home within 24 hours.
This life-saving and rare procedure, known as Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Implantation, was successfully carried out by Dr Manish Chokhandre, senior interventional paediatric cardiologist at Arneja Heart Institute. "Redo open-heart surgeries are extremely risky, especially in adults with childhood congenital heart conditions," explained Dr Chokhandre.
"We carefully studied the patient's unique heart structure, custom-designed a special valve, and performed the entire procedure without opening the chest.
"
Welcoming the advancement, Dr Amar Amale, president of Cardiological Society of India (CSI), Vidarbha chapter, said, "Gone are the days when children had to undergo open-heart surgery with large chest incisions. Paediatric cardiology has advanced to a level where even a complex congenital heart condition in an adult, who earlier had childhood surgery, can now be treated through a simple leg vein — just like an angioplasty.
It's a huge leap in cardiac care."
"Paediatric cardiology needs more attention. One in every 100 children is born with a heart defect. Many go undiagnosed or are diagnosed too late," said Dr Chokhandre, who regularly performs heart procedures on newborns.
Veteran cardiologist Dr Jaspal Arneja said, "Thanks to medical advances and new technologies, even complex heart problems can be treated more safely. With artificial intelligence (AI) helping us understand heart function better, we can now offer more accurate and effective treatment."
This successful case from Nagpur brings hope to hundreds of children and adults born with heart defects — and shows how medical science and skillful execution are transforming lives, one heartbeat at a time.
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