Life of 63-year-old woman saved with L. Ventricular Assist Device (VAD)

Jul 20 2022 | Medicover Hospitals | Hyderabad

A successful Procedure and Alternate to Heart Transplant

HYDERABAD, 20th July 2022: A 63-year-old Rukminamma reported Shortness of breath and was rushed to Medicover Hospitals. She was diagnosed with dilated Cardiomyopathy. Initially,medicines were tried but she could not tolerate them. Her BP went too low and she started feeling giddy.

The medical team had a challenge on hand as there were only two options for her- a heart transplant or a Ventricular Assist Device (VAD). A heart transplant was ruled out considering her age. So, the medical team decided to opt for a procedure with a mechanical heart called a “ Ventricular Assist Device.” After counselling her and also her family members, she was convinced that a VAD would help treat her and also help to live a healthy life as all other organs were functioning properly.

Heartmate III VAD was implanted to treat her left ventricle, which is the main pumping chamber, and hence the procedure she underwent is called LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device). During the operative procedure that took six hours, the device was implanted successfully at Medicover Hospitals, Hyderabad, by a team of Cardiologists headed by Sr. Consultants DR. Ramagiri Balaji, Dr. Krishna Prasad, Dr. Pramod Reddy Kandukare, Dr Nithin Annarapu, and Dr Mithilesh. This is the first time a Heartmate III device has been implanted in a small patient (body surface area of 1.34). It happens to be 1 among 100 cases done in India so far. This is the sixth device implanted in both the Telugu-speaking states.

The device was fixed in her chest despite the lady having a small-sized body. A single wire comes out of the chest which is attached to a small computer device that the patient can carry with them. It is a battery-operated device; the battery can run for 17 hours and covers most of the daily activities.

After a major and complicated surgery, the patient was discharged home after 2 weeks of hospital stay. As of now, she is walking by herself and is no longer experiencing shortness of breath. Immediately after the surgery with the implantation of the device, the patient's ability to walk increases.

Medicover Hospitals runs an active Heart Failure Clinic, where patients with poor heart pumping are identified, and appropriate medication is commenced. If patients do not respond well to medical treatment then a heart specialist team (comprising of senior cardiologists and cardiac surgeons) decides whether the patient will benefit with VAD or transplant.