New Kind of Operation for Faulty Heart Valves

For those with a frail heart and who are too weak for conventional heart valve surgery, there has been a new less invasive procedure that can be chosen. A 68 year old woman, Margaret Mann, would be the first person in the world to have undergone this procedure. Ms. Mann had previously had a open heart surgery done and had developed health issues and short of breathe several years later. Finally she had been admitted to the hospital with fluid in her lungs and was diagnosed by the doctors that her heart was not pumping blood properly.

The diagnosis led to the conclusion that one of her heart valves, the mitral valve were not closing up properly. For this she was treated by Dr. Neil Moat, a consultant cardiac surgeon at Royal Brompton Hospital in London, who suggested a new procedure where they would replace faulty valve by inserting a new one through a thin tube through my chest.

Ms. Mann says, “This treatment was in its very early stages, in fact, I’d be the first person in the world to try one particular device. This was daunting, but I discussed it with my family and decided to go ahead. I went in for the operation at the end of October; I don’t remember anything about the procedure itself and stayed in for three weeks. Now I feel great and I’m no longer out of breath.”



Source-Medindia