Doctors at a city hospital gave a new lease of life to 63-year-old patient from Zimbabwe with a complex graft replacement of total aortic valve. According to the doctors, Mary Chawasemd was suffering from repeated episodes of chest pain over the last six months and diagnosis revealed that she was suffering from a leaking aortic valve with ballooning of aorta and her condition had been undetected. To cure the leak, total arch of aorta is replaced along with aortic root, ascending aorta with re-implantation of the coronary arteries into the graft.
According to director, cardiac surgery, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Dr Yugal Kishore Mishra, who conducted the complex surgery, local doctors in Zimbabwe were unable to diagnose the patient’s condition accurately.
“Further evaluation revealed that she had dilated ascending aorta along with moderate aortic regurgitation. The patient was hypertensive and in instances when her blood pressure shot up, the valve which had multiple tears would start bleeding from the walls of the aorta. It is important to note that the aorta has branches going into the brain and supplies blood to the brain. With the aorta ruptured concurrently with dilation and swelling, there was severe leakage of the aorta and this would have resulted in instant death. Replacement of the aorta and the valve were immediately required to save the patient’s life,” said Dr Mishra.
The doctors decided that her condition was bad and required urgent surgical intervention. “The swelling in her body, her inability to walk or eat indicated that her condition was deteriorating. The scan subsequently revealed her leaking aortic valve and this determined that the next step in her treatment had to be urgently conducted,” added Dr Mishra.
