Kochi: Aster Medcity, a quaternary care centre catering to a large number of patients from South India, the Middle East, Africa and Maldives, has launched Complex High-risk Indicated Procedures (CHIP) Centre under Aster Centre of Excellence in Cardiac Sciences, one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in the region. The CHIP Centre at Aster Medcity is the second such centre in the country.
The CHIP Centre was launched after the Aster Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Cardiac Sciences, which was dealing with all types of cardiac cases since its inception, has become a destination of last resort for the very sick and the ‘no option’ patients in the recent years.
Dr. Anilkumar, Senior Consultant Cardiologist, Aster Medcity said, “High risk procedures are the order of the day, especially in percutaneous cardiac interventions. Multivessel angioplasties, angioplasties for totally blocked arteries and angioplasties for patients who are denied bypass surgeries form part of the daily routine in the cath labs of Aster Medcity. Patients with severe kidney, liver and lung diseases are now increasingly being referred from the surrounding regions and Middle East to Aster Medcity for cardiac interventions. The high-risk procedures require the presence of a highly competent team of interventionalists and an efficient multidisciplinary team approach.” He added that such high risk procedures also require support involving ventilators, balloon support, Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenator (ECMO) and other cardiopulmonary support devices.
Dr. Rajasekhar Varma, Senior Consultant Cardiologist, Aster Medcity, who is heading the CHIP Centre, has 91 per cent success in chronic total angioplasty, which is equal to the Gold Standard rates of success among Japanese specialists. “The Heart Team approach is essential to be successful in CHIP procedures. A recent example was a complex angioplasty on an octogenarian combined with a TAVI (percutaneous valve implantation)procedure done involving the whole Heart team which yielded excellent result. The Aster Medcity CHIP program is being expanded with the introduction of a dedicated structural heart disease consultant and newer equipment in the form of Impella and LV assist devices.”
Aster CoE in Cardiac Sciences offers advanced cardiology, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, cardiac surgery, heart transplant and cardiac rehabilitation services for both adults and children. Designed to function like an independent hospital, it has an outpatient division, an inpatient division, a day-care section, a state-of-the-art cardiovascular imaging section, including nuclear medicine, a dedicated electrophysiology lab, an interventional cardiology wing, dedicated adult and paediatric cardiac surgical suites, dedicated cardiac ICUs and a 24-hour Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinic to handle all emergencies.
“The exceptional team of doctors supported by trained nurses, technicians, dieticians and rehabilitation experts offer optimal, evidence-based treatment to patients based on a multidisciplinary approach. They follow a unique Heart Team approach to ensure personalised treatment to patients by discussing each and every case in detail as a team and deciding the best way forward,” said Cdr. (Rtd.) Jelson Kavalakkat, CEO, Aster Medcity.
The Centre is the first facility in Kerala to offer state-of-the-art clinical support and diagnostic technology including EPIQ Echo, ORI Karl Storz Fusion Digital Integrated Surgical Suites; IntelliSpace Critical Care Anesthesia ICUs; Flat Panel Biplane Vascular Hybrid Cath Lab and Philips PET-CT scan with Time Of Flight Technology.
In addition to this, the hospital provides ECMO services. It has introduced procedures, including TAVI (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation) procedure, His Bundle Pacing and Left Atrial Appendage Closure.
Call 24/7 Aster Heartline +91 81119 98111 in case of emergencies or queries on cardiac problems.
For details on cardiology programmes, call: + 91 81119 98143
For more details on cardiac surgery, call: +91 81119 98021
Left atrial appendage closure performed
Doctors at Aster Medcity have successfully performed closing of the left atrial appendage using plug for preventing strokes in four patients. The technically-challenging procedure was performed using an angiography like technique. Patients with irregular heart rhythms have a greater chance of developing strokes from clots forming in the heart and moving to the brain. Atrial fibrillation is the rhythm which poses five times greater risk of strokes. Such strokes happen because of the clot forming in one part of the atrium, the upper chamber of the heart, called the left atrial appendage. The clots can be prevented from forming by giving blood thinners called anticoagulants. But atrial fibrillation is often found in elderly people with higher risk of bleeding and people with other illnesses, which prevent from giving blood thinners. Dr. Rajasekhar Varma, Senior Consultant Cardiologist, Aster Medcity, who looked after the first patient who underwent the procedure at Aster Medcity, said that the procedure can be considered by all cardiologists, physicians and neurologists in patients with atrial fibrillation, who cannot be put on blood thinners.
First Indian-made TAVI valve implant in Kerala
The Cardiology team at Aster Medcity has successfully inserted an Indian-made Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) valve in an 82-year-old patient, who had a critical block on the left side valve of his heart, for the first time in Kerala. The patient, a native of Kottayam, was suffering from heart-related ailments for the past few years. He was advised to undergo open heart surgery, but was too frail for the same. The patient was given the option of replacing his valve by the TAVI procedure without surgery. “The internationally approved valves initially available were very expensive and not affordable for most of the patients. By using Indian-made TAVI valves, the cost of the procedure can be reduced by half,” said Dr. Anil Kumar R, Lead Consultant Cardiologist. More centers are now performing the procedure by using the Indian-made TAVI valve. “Considering the patient’s age, open heart surgery was too risky. Hence, we decided to insert the valve through his leg. The patient was discharged within three days and he has been doing well,” said Dr. Praveen Sreekumar, Consultant, who is looking after the patient.
Kerala’s first His Bundle Pacing performed
The State’s first permanent His Bundle Pacemaker implantation surgery, the most physiologic form of pacemaker implantation, was held at Aster Medcity. His Bundle Pacing, a major development in the field of cardiac rhythm management, was performed on a 71-year-old patient from Thodupuzha by a medical team under Dr. Praveen Sreekumar, Cardiac Electrophysiologist, AsterMedcity. “If a person’s heart beat falls below the required minimum level and does not improve with any medical engagement, pacemakers should be implanted. This had so far involved pacing the lower chamber and the upper chamber. However, in recent years, attempts were being made to pace the electrical circuitry of the heart instead of the chambers to try and get more natural heartbeat. The process involved pacing the His Bundle, the electrical hub responsible for conducting the normal heart from the upper chamber to the lower chamber. But the procedure is complex and required specifically designed pacemaker wires. This wire or pacemaker lead was made available in India at the beginning of the year,” said Dr. Praveen Sreekumar.
