For the first time in India, Caval Valve Implantation (CAVI) was successfully performed on a patient suffering from Carcinoid heart disease, at Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, on April 10. The patient was a 55 year old male, who was diagnosed with severe tricuspid valve regurgitation. This problem causes the blood to flow backward in the right upper atrium when the right lower ventricle contracted and also leads to a leaky pulmonary valve to carcinoid heart diseases.
The patient developed recurrent right heart failures along with excessive abdominal swelling, liver congestion and swollen feet. He was constantly losing weight and had a dismally poor appetite, which lead to serious fatigue. The patient was deemed unfit for valve replacement surgery by two cardiothoracic surgeons; hence, he resorted to medical therapy for about 2-3 months, which was not helpful.
The CAVI was done by Dr Nihar Mehta, Dr. Rahul Chhabria and Dr. Nikesh Jain, proctored by Dr. Ravinder Rao, under the guidance of Dr. A.B. Mehta and Dr. S.R. Handa under local anesthesia using the TricValve in the inferior vena cava.
