Chennai: Little did 82-year-old former Army Major General Dr Sathyapalan thought that he would suffer from aortic valve stenosis, a condition where the aorta is subjected to wear and tear.
A decade ago, he underwent open heart surgery and the implant failed as it exceeded the life limit of 10 years.
Due to his complex condition, several hospitals refused to treat him that led him consult Apollo Hospitals’ senior interventional cardiologist, Dr Sai Satish, who, with his team replaced the damaged heart valve through Trans catheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) procedure.
During a press conference held here Wednesday, Dr Sai Satish, said, “This was an extremely challenging case as the vessels in his leg were severely calcified and narrowed and no valve could be moved across them for replacement. His age and physical health again stood as a high risk making the procedure very demanding.”
The procedure however went extremely smooth, the narrowed leg vessel was first dialated with multiple balloons gently until the space was big enough to accommodate the valve system, it was then moved across this and placed safely, inside the old degenerated surgical valve in under 20 minutes, the doctor said.
However, it is not all. The immediate next day of operating, the patient, being a former serviceman, exercised his right to vote despite undergoing a complex procedure.