PGI performs rare heart valve procedure

Chandigarh, July 1

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In a ground-breaking achievement, the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI) has become the first hospital in North India to perform transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR), a minimally invasive heart valve procedure.

The cardiac team accomplished the milestone under interventional cardiologist and structural heart specialist Prof Parminder Singh Otaal.

TMVR is a complex procedure that allows the replacement of a diseased mitral valve without resorting to traditional open heart surgery. The minimally invasive procedure is particularly beneficial for patients with mitral valve stenosis, mitral valve regurgitation or a combination of both conditions. It is suitable for high-risk patients, who have previously undergone bioprosthetic heart valve implantation and are experiencing failure.

Sharing details about the procedure performed on a 78-year-old male patient, Prof Otaal, who recently completed his fellowship in transcatheter heart valve operations from the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, UK, said the patient had undergone bypass surgery and mitral valve replacement in 2005 and had several comorbidities, including hypertension, kidney problems and low platelet counts (thrombocytopenia). The patient was admitted to the hospital with heart failure symptoms and was subsequently diagnosed with structural degeneration of the previously implanted bioprosthetic surgical valve, resulting in leakage and blockage. Given his high surgical risk, TMVR offered a low-risk alternative for valve replacement.

The patient experienced a quick recovery within a few hours after the intervention, he said. “This innovative technology holds great promise for patients with advanced mitral valve disease, particularly those at high surgical risk,” emphasised Prof Otaal.