Delhi: Army Hospital performs non-surgical transcatheter implantation of cardiac valve in two minors

New Delhi: Two minors, suffering from congenital heart defects, have received a new lease of life after undergoing a novel procedure at an Army hospital in Delhi.

The pediatric cardiology team at Army Hospital (Research & Referral) based in New Delhi on Saturday performed non-surgical transcatheter implantation of cardiac (Pulmonary) valve in two more children suffering from congenital heart defect, through a small 'nick' in the groin, adding yet another feather in its cap.

The patients are a girl and a boy aged 8 years and 9 years respectively.

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The girl weighed just 28 kg and is the youngest and smallest child in the country to have undergone this non-surgical valve implantation, particularly in the government sector.

As per the officials, this complex advanced intervention was performed under the aegis and able guidance of Lt Gen Daljit Singh, who is also the senior-most serving paediatrician of the Armed Forces, Lt Gen Arindam Chatterjee, and Lt Gen Ajith Nilakantan, Commandant.

The team has so far performed 13 cases of pulmonary valve implantation in the last one year, which is the highest amongst the two government institutes in the country that have done such cases.

Till this procedure was introduced in the AFMS by the team at AH(R&R) on October 7, 2022, the cardiac (pulmonary) valve used to be replaced through an open heart by-pass surgery, which is not only extremely painful and cumbersome but also carries significant risk of morbidity and mortality as well as prolonged hospital stay.

"With this novel non-surgical procedure, the patient is discharged within 2-3 days post-intervention, without any scar on the body. The introduction of this path-breaking highly specialized non-surgical intervention in the Armed Forces and government sector of the country is a game-changer and has opened up fresh avenues for many such children requiring valve replacement, with significantly improved quality of life," the official statement said.

It further said that it is a quantum leap towards providing advanced cardiac care in children and ushers a new era not only for the AFMS but also for other government hospitals of the country, taking them to a new higher platform.