Hoshiarpur: A Jammu woman suffering from congenital heart defect got a new lease of life after undergoing a rare complex heart surgery at Livasa Hospital recently.
The woman, a mother of two children, had a congenital heart defect. The size of the valve and aorta was small since birth. In 2011, when she was 18 years old, Dr Pankaj Goyal, Senior Director of Cardiac Surgery, operated on her and performed the complex valve surgery. The replacement valve was made of pig tissue. She did not require any blood thinners for this, however, the lifespan of this valve was 10-12 years. Recently, the woman complained of increasing difficulty in breathing. The valve had again become narrow and stiff due to calcium deposits. A very rare and complex procedure, apico-aortic conduit, was performed. Dr Pankaj Goyal informed that this is the first case of apico aortic conduit surgery, which has been performed for the first time by any hospital in Amritsar region. The woman's health has improved significantly after the surgery.