KOCHI: Ratheesh, a 34-year-old man from Idukki with a rare heart condition, can now say goodbye to sleepless nights. He had been suffering from severe heart failure problems for more than four years. Surgical Anterior Ventricular Endocardial Restoration (SAVER) heart surgery helped him regain his health.
His heart was pumping only 10 percent of its capacity when he was brought to the Lakeshore Hospital in Kochi. Dr. Moosa Kunhi, Heart Surgeon, VPS Lakeshore Hospital, told a media conference that it is probably for the first time in India a SAVER heart operation was performed on a patient with just 10 percent pumping power of the heart, whereas the normal is 60 percent.
“The patient was suffering from end-stage dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). He was very critical when he was admitted to the hospital. The surgery lasted about seven hours, and he showed signs of quick recovery after the surgery. Post-surgery, the heart’s pumping power increased to 23 percent,” he said.
Ratheesh had approached several medical colleges in Kerala and Chennai, but none could correct his condition. “Now, twelve days after the surgery, I can feel that 80 percent of my health has improved. Lack of donors make heart transplantations impossible. Life was very miserable; I was unable to sit or lie down or sleep due to severe breathlessness. But now I can lie down and have sound sleeps at nights,” said Ratheesh.
“The SAVER surgery is highly recommended instead of heart transplantation. But doctors are reluctant to perform it as they suspect whether the low pumping can withstand the surgery,” said Dr Moosa Kunhi.
