In a first of its kind surgery in the city, a woman recently underwent a successful complex heart surgery while her heart was still beating.

According to a release, the 51-year-old woman was suffering from a severely stenotic rheumatic mitral valve disease, which required her mitral valve to be replaced. The mitral valve consists of two flaps and is responsible for controlling the flow of blood into the heart.

A team of two doctors at the Eastern Railway’s B.R. Singh Hospital conducted the surgery with the help of a heart-lung machine. The heart was continuously supplied with oxygenated blood and it remained in a state of slow beating to enable the mitral valve to be replaced with metallic valves. The surgery on heart valves is commonly performed on a motionless heart by using a special solution called cardioplegia . As the heart is stopped for surgery, the surgeon must restart it and reintroduce blood into the heart muscles.

This is known as reperfusion. Reperfusion can cause impairment of heart function known as reperfusion injury with complications such as irregular heart rhythms and pump dysfunction. Reperfusion injury is especially a concern in high risk patients, such as elderly, people who had previous heart operations, and those with complex health problems. Therefore, the beating heart surgery leads to better preservation of heart and better survival rate, especially among high-risk patients.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Staff Reporter / Kolkata – July 23rd, 2014