Vadodara: A 45-year-old Gujarat man with a severely leaking heart valve and a dangerous enlargement of the aorta, the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body, underwent a rare surgery in which doctors repaired the damaged artery while preserving his natural heart valve.The patient was admitted with malignant hypertension and found to have severe aortic regurgitation, in which the aortic valve allows blood to leak backwards. His aortic root had enlarged to around 5cm and he also had an aneurysm, or abnormal bulging, in the ascending aorta.The procedure was performed at Parul Sevashram Hospital by a team of cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons. The team carried out a David valve-sparing aortic root replacement along with ascending aorta replacement, using the David-V Stanford modification.In a conventional aortic root replacement, the damaged valve may also be replaced with an artificial valve. In the David procedure, surgeons reconstruct the diseased portion of the aorta while preserving the patient’s own valve.Cardiac surgeon Dr Sagar Sahita said preserving the natural valve can help patients avoid lifelong anticoagulant therapy associated with certain artificial valves.“By preserving the valve, the patient avoids a lifetime of anticoagulantion therapy, which in turn provides long-term protection from bleeding hazards, while allowing the natural valve to continue functioning effectively,” Sahita said.The patient’s recovery was encouraging. By the first day after surgery, he was stable and no longer required medicines to support his blood pressure. Tests also showed that the preserved valve was functioning well, with no residual narrowing or leakage.
