Chennai: An ‘extremely rare’ surgery was performed on an Iraqi man in India recently, in which the artificial heart (LVAD) of the 56-year-old was removed through a complex procedure after his heart had recovered completely.
So far, there are only few such cases which have been reported worldwide. Fortis Hospital Noida performed ‘the first surgery of this kind in India’.
The procedure was performed by Dr Ajay Kaul, chairman – Fortis Heart & Vascular Institute, Noida, and his team of medical experts.
He said, ‘The insertion of the LVAD (in 2018) went well, and the patient recovered completely. The patient was discharged from the hospital after two weeks and on follow up we found that the heart support system was functioning well. He was then sent back to his country and was asked to come for a follow up every six months. He was doing very well, but after one and a half years he developed a driveline infection. We tried to treat it and during a routine checkup we found that his heart had recovered completely.’