Varanasi: Doctors at the department of cardiology at the Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), successfully performed a complex ventricular septal defect (VSD) device closure on a 65-year-old male recovering from a myocardial infarction (MI), commonly called a heart attack.
The VSD was performed by a team of skilled doctors, including prof Vikas Aggrawal, Dr Pratibha Rai, Dr Srasti, and Dr Arjun.
Prof Aggrawal said, ” Apart from the VSD device closure, the patient also underwent an angioplasty procedure to treat blocked coronary arteries. He’s now back to his routine activities at the time of the first follow-up.”
He explained that ventricular septal rupture (VSR) or defect is a rare but life-threatening complication of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), occurring in approximately 0.5–1% of cases. “During a heart attack, blockages in the arteries supplying the heart muscles lead to the death of heart muscles due to a lack of oxygen and other nutrients. The ventricular septum, a structure separating the right side of the heart (carrying less oxygenated blood) from the left (carrying oxygenated blood), can be affected if its blood supply is compromised. This damage can result in necrosis (tissue death) and a subsequent hole in the septum.”Patients with VSR are often critically ill, presenting significant management challenges, Aggrawal said.
Prof Aggrawal underscored the technical difficulties of post-MI VSR closures, especially in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities. He highlighted that advancements in interventional techniques now make it possible to repair these defects with minimally invasive procedures, providing a safer alternative to open-heart surgery for high-risk individuals.
Prof Siddharth Lakhotia, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS) HoD, noted that while open-heart surgery remains an option, its high mortality rate often makes device closure a more favourable choice in carefully selected patients.
