Rare heart surgery performed by SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Kattankulathur

Chennai: A 54 year old man, developed severe chest pain with breathlessness and got admitted at Thanjavur Medical college Hospital, where he underwent investigations which revealed he had Acute Type 1 Aortic dissection(Tearing of Aorta which is the main Blood vessel that takes the blood from Heart to Other parts of body), and damage of the Aortic Valve. Post diagnosis he was referred to SRM Medical College Hospital, Kattankulathur for further treatment.

The patient was recommended The Bentall procedure – a surgical procedure where the Aortic Valve is replaced with an artificial aortic valve. A team of surgeons from SRM Medical college successfully performed this surgery and the patient was discharged post observation.

The procedure takes upto 10 to 12 hours and is complex to perform. “In India, very few surgeons perform this procedure due to lack of expertise, infrastructure and failure in diagnosing the cause of the heart ailment. Also, hospitals do not diagnose the aortic rupture and they recommend the usual surgery, post which it turns fatal for many”, says Dr Srinivas Reddy Sr Consultant & CT Surgeon, SRM Medical College and Hospital. The Procedure was performed by the team of CT surgeons led by Dr Reddy.

This scenario is very rare and extremely life threatening. Such conditions are developed due to high blood pressure, mental and physical stress and irregular treatment of heart ailments.