Fortis doctors successfully perform India's first heart explantation surgery

New Delhi: Doctors at Fortis Hospital Noida has successfully performed an extremely rare surgery, in which the artificial heart (LVAD) of a 56-year-old patient from Iraq was removed through a complex procedure after his heart had recovered completely (which was done in 2018).

So far, there are only few such cases which have been reported worldwide. Fortis Hospital Noida has created a record by successfully performing the first surgery of this kind in India and saving the patient's life.

On presentation the 56-year-old patient from Iraq had terminal heart failure. He was extremely breathless and could not do routine activities like taking bath without help. Since no surgical procedure was possible, he was put on heart transplant list. While waiting for the donor heart patient started deteriorating and became so critical that he required life-saving machines to keep him alive. It is then that we decided to put him on LVAD or artificial heart.

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Dr Ajay Kaul, Chairman - Fortis Heart & Vascular Institute, Noida said, "The insertion of the LVAD went well, and the patient recovered completely. The patient was discharged from the hospital after 2 weeks and on follow up we found that the heart support system was functioning well. He was then sent back to his country and was asked to come for a follow up every six months. He was doing very well, but after one and a half years he developed a driveline infection. We tried to treat it and during a routine checkup we found that his heart had recovered completely."

He added, "The fact that his heart had recovered completely was uncommon. However, since it had, we reduced the speed of the pump. Hisheart was still functioning at optimum capacity, but we kept the pump running to be on the safe side. We asked him to come again after 6 months for a follow up. We observed him over next one year as we wanted to be very sure that the heart is functioning well without the support of the pump. It was decided after due consultation with the patient that the artificial heart would be explanted. The explantation procedure was carried out at Fortis Hospital Noida. It is a novel surgical procedure which was conducted for the first time in India successfully and the patient was discharged within 5 days and is doing very well."

Mr. Mohit Singh, Zonal Director, Fortis Hospital Noida said, "This explantation operation is a landmark procedure. It has been conducted for the first time in India at Fortis Hospital Noida and the esteemed panel of cardiac doctors under the able and experienced leadership of Dr. Ajay Kaul has been able to give a new life to the 56-year-old Iraqi patient. I applaud the team for their continued commitment towards clinical expertise and patient care& making Fortis Noida a centre of excellence for Cardiac Sciences."

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