Rare surgery on man suffering 7 abnormalities in heart

Chennai, Mar 25: For the first time in the world, a rare surgery was performed on a man, who was suffering from seven abnormalities in his heart and had even undergone a watersten shunt 40 years back, by a team of doctors at the MIOT Hospital here.

It was indeed a miracle that the 45-year-old Lenin Tamil Kovan, born with a blue-baby heart, managed to survive with the shunt for so many years.

''He is the longest surviving patient with the shunt'', Dr V V Bashi of Miot Hospitals, who performed the rare and complicated eight-hour surgery on Lenin, told reporters here yesterday.

''I browsed through the internet. To date, this is the first of its kind operation done in the world, for a combination of seven abnormalities in the heart'', he added.

''The shunt has been working very well and for a long time. That's why he was able to survive. Normally, corrective surgery after the shunt has to be performed within two or three years. He was told 40 years back that he had to undergo a corrective surgery. Since the technology had not developed and considering the risk factor involved in the corrective surgery, he decided not to go for it'', he said.

When it came to do-or-die situation, Lenin decided to go for it and was recommended to Miot Hospital for the surgery.

''We took it up as a challenge and we are happy that we are successful'', Dr Bashi said.

As his nails, teeth and tongue started turning blue a few years back, he was advised to undergo blood transfusion every three months to make the blood thinner and to prevent clotting. When his legs started swelling, Lenin, working as a scientist in the Birla Planetarium here, felt something was going wrong before he was referred to Dr Bashi by his cardiac surgeon.

At Miot he was diagnosed to have Pentalogy of fallot's with multiple holes in the heart. Added to it, he had breathing problems and palpitations on exertion.

An angiogram revealed seven abnormalities viz., a functioning shunt going to his right lung, two large holes in the ventricular septum, a large hole in the atrial septum, a complete block in the pulmonary valve and pulmonary artery that takes blood to the lungs, the right side of the heart was enlarged and a large aneurysm of the aorta and severe leak in the aortic valve that takes blood to the heart.

Dr Bashi said the complex open heart surgery was performed on March 12.

''We closed all the three holes with patches, opened the valve connecting the lungs to the heart, removed the enlarged muscles from the right side of the heart, enlarged the pulmonary artery for free blood flow, closed the shunt, replaced the ascending aorta and aortic valve in a single open heart operation'', he added.

Dr Bashi said Lenin was connected to the heart-lung machine for nearly five and a half hours during the surgery.

About 15 units of blood was used for the operation. The surgery which would normally cost about Rs 4.5 lakhs, was done at a concessional charge since he came from a poor economic background.

Lenin, who would be discharged in the next two days, said a ''hearty' thanks to all those who had helped him in shaping him to lead a normal life.

A father of two children, Lenin thanked the Almighty, Dr Bashi and his team of doctors and the blood donors for giving him a fresh lease of life.

UNI