SIMS Hospital Performs Groundbreaking Hybrid Surgery
Chennai: In a medical breakthrough, SIMS Hospital has successfully performed India’s first combined open-heart valve replacement and TAVR (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement) valve-specialized aortic graft surgery. The 10-hour marathon hybrid surgery was performed on a 61-year-old patient from Mumbai who had previously undergone a complex cardiac procedure eleven years ago.
The patient underwent a single-stage hybrid procedure combining intraoperative TAVR with the Frozen Elephant Trunk (FET) technique, a major open-heart surgery used to replace a damaged portion of the aorta with a specialized graft. The FET procedure involves placing a hybrid graft, a combination of a surgical graft and a stent graft, resembling an elephant’s trunk.
The patient had undergone Bentall surgery, a complex cardiac procedure, but the untackled parts of the aorta gradually dilated over time, increasing the risk of rupture and requiring further intervention. Additionally, his tissue valve had become severely narrowed and calcified, making this one of the most complex cardiac cases in India.
Dr. V.V. Bashi, Director & Senior Consultant at the Institute of Cardiac & Advanced Aortic Diseases, SIMS Hospital, said, “Combining intraoperative catheter-based valve implantation with aortic arch repair is the first successful case in India of a TAVR and FET surgery performed for a redo Bentall patient.”
Dr. Mohammed Idhrees, Senior Consultant, Cardiothoracic Surgery, SIMS Hospital, added, “The surgery was precisely planned to execute, and the team faced absolutely no difficulties.” Dr. Ravi Pachamuthu, Chairman, SIMS Hospital, said, “This landmark procedure brings in a new era for our hospital and demonstrates our unwavering dedication to quality and innovation in cardiac care.”
The surgery was uneventful, and the patient was discharged just eight days after surgery, following a two-day stay in the ICU. This groundbreaking approach enhances patient safety by significantly reducing bypass time and the duration of cardiac arrest.
