Fortis Malar Hospital successfully implanted India’s first HeartMate II LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device) on a 58 year old gentleman suffering from combined renal and heart failure conditions.
The successful surgery at the Fortis Malar Hospital, Chennai, was performed by Dr. K. R. Balakrishnan, Director – Cardiac Sciences, and the team of senior doctors comprising Dr. K. G. Suresh Rao (Head of Cardiac Anaesthesia & Cardiac Critical Care), Dr. Nandkishore Kapadia (Senior Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon), Dr. Ravi Kumar and Dr. Madan Mohan (Senior Consultant Interventional Cardiologists).
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. K. R. Balakrishnan said, “The procedure, a first for India, involved the implantation of an artificial assisted mechanical device called ‘Heart Mate II LVAD’, on a 58 year old patient, Mr S Rajasekar. This is currently the most sophisticated technology available in the world and a permanent solution to heart failure. It is a destination therapy for patients who can’t find a donor or may not survive a transplant and offers many advantages. The machine has a 90% survival rate and can extend life for at-least 10 years.”
LVAD devices have been used primarily as a bridge to a heart transplant till the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved them as a destination therapy. The device performs the function of the left ventricle of the heart and pumps the blood when the heart is too weak to do so on its own.