At 102, Panipat woman gets pacemaker

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 5

A private hospital has implanted a pacemaker in a 102-year-old woman from Panipat, giving her a new lease of life. Fortis Escorts Heart Institute has claimed that this is the first ever reported case of implant in a woman aged 102 in India by a private hospital. It said the surgery was performed in a record time of less than 20 minutes.

The earlier two known cases of implant have been of 105-year-old men at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, and Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow. This is reportedly the first pacemaker implant in a 102-year-old patient by a private hospital and India’s third reported case involving a centenarian.

The patient, Maya Devi, suffered a stroke and collapsed at home. Her pulse rate had dipped to 30, much below the normal rate of 65-80 beats per minute. “The patient was rushed to the hospital’s emergency and underwent the surgery entailing inserting passive leads into the heart through a blood vessel running under the collarbone. The passive leads are tested to ensure they are functional and attached to a generator,” Dr Aparna Jaswal, senior consultant in the department of cardiac pacing and electrophysiology at Fortis said.

“Given the patient’s age, we ensured that the time on the operation theatre table in surgery was as less as possible. This helps to reduce complications and chances of infections during or post-surgery. Additional care was taken in choosing the hardware so that the patient could withstand the surgery. We put in passive leads and implanted an MRI compatible pacemaker for any further medical interventions that may be required,” Dr Jaswal said.

The patient was leading a simple and healthy lifestyle and had no comorbid conditions, diabetes or hypertension, making it very rare phenomena for her age. She was ready to be discharged and could resume her day to day life as before, she added.

Senior anaesthesiologist Dr Riaz Ahmad Malik said “For a patient of her age, we take great care as there are chances that the patient is unable to withstand the effect of the anaesthesia, leading to a multiple organ failure.”

Great grandson of the patient, Sazal Dua, said: “We are very thankful to the doctors for saving the life of my great grandmother. As a fourth generation, we are fortunate to have a great grandmother in our family and are blessed with her presence.” Maya Devi has three sons, who in turn have 11 children. She is great grandmother to 13 kids.