New complex cardiac procedure at Apollo Bramwell Hospital

20-May-2011

Mauritius-based Apollo Bramwell Hospital is proud to announce the success of another highly complex medical procedure performed for the first time in the Indian Ocean island and the sub-Saharan African region.

A multidisciplinary team led by Dr Mahesh Krishnakumar, Senior Consultant – Interventional Cardiology at Apollo Bramwell succeeded in saving a forty-one year old woman from Comoros Island. The latter was in her seventh month of pregnancy and was admitted with an intractable heart failure due to a critically blocked cardiac valve.

While procedures to unblock cardiac valves have been successfully performed at Apollo Bramwell Hospital in the past, any surgical intervention and the use of anesthesia in this instance – given the patient’s advanced pregnancy – was deemed extremely dangerous for both the baby and the mother.

“The baby was far too immature to be delivered at that point and delivering the baby would have worsened her critical heart condition,” Dr Mahesh said after the procedure.

Nonetheless, emergency intervention is the only hope for survival in this kind of patients and excellent coordination in the operation theatre is very much essential to obtain success.

Therefore, the team established the best way to proceed was through non-surgical opening of the blocked valve, known in the medical circle as ‘Balloon Valvotomy’.

“In non-medical terms, we introduced a sort of small balloon through a vein in her thigh which was subsequently guided into the site of the blocked valve. The valve was unblocked by inflating the balloon. The procedure was successfully completed none surgically without any anesthesia. Post procedure examination has revealed that the valve was widened adequately, blood can flow and the patient is out of danger,” Dr Mahesh explained.

The patient was discharged only a day after the procedure and allowed to fly back to her native country to continue her pregnancy.

Commenting on the procedure, Apollo Bramwell Hospital’s CEO, Mrs Valerie Rawat said the institution is fast building a strong track record of medical firsts for Mauritius and the region.

“The success of this procedure undoubtedly increases the repertoire of medical excellence at Apollo Bramwell but also confirms the hospital’s belief, since Day 1, that a multidisciplinary specialist team and latest medical technology can beat life threatening complications and bring new medical hope in this part of the world,” said Mrs Rawat.

Apollo Bramwell Hospital is a 200-bed tertiary care medical centre in Mauritius which provides cutting edge technology and international medical expertise under the same roof.