Doctors at Southern Railway hospital perform complex heart procedure to save woman's life

Doctors at the Southern Railway Headquarters hospital in Chennai have performed a complicated non-surgical mitral valve replacement procedure to save the life of a 67-year-old woman.

The malfunctioning mitral valve posed a critical situation for the patient who had previously undergone multiple procedures due to a damaged valve.

Doctors at the hospital felt that a surgical procedure to replace the defective valve could pose substantial risks and challenges. They executed the innovative procedure, akin to an angiogram, and accessed the damaged mitral valve through the artery of the groin area, a statement from the Southern Railway stated.

The complex, four-hour-long procedure involved precise cutting of the old valve leaflet using wires and its immediate replacement through another artery, all supported by an intra-aortic balloon pump.

The successful completion of the procedure resulted in the patient's swift recovery, the statement added.