For the first time in South Tamil Nadu, cardiologists at Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre performed an angioplasty on a 77-year-old woman, with the aid of a heart pump called ‘Impella which takes over the heart’s functioning during the procedure.
According to the hospital, the patient who had known heart disease since 2012, developed a critical block with a thick chunk of calcium deposited in her main coronary artery. with this condition, performing angioplasty (a minimally invasive endovascular procedure used to widen obstructed arteries or veins) without mechanical circulatory support would be a disaster, the hospital said.
During the procedure Protected Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (Protected PCI) performs on the septuagenarian on December 18, a team of doctors led by Senior Consultant of Interventional Cardiology Dr.R.Sivakumar, inserted and later removed the impella measuring about 4.62 millimeters in diameter (small est in the world) through the groin artery. The patient has recovered completely and is fit to resume her daily routine, Dr.Sivakumar mentioned.
Impella assisted surgery that is being widely performed in the US and Europe made its foray into India in 2018. In Tamil Nadu, only two impella assisted surgeries have been performed previously.
Source: New Indian Express
Date: 26.12.2020
