Pak girl gets world’s smallest heart pump implant in city hosp

The patient, Ayesha, was admitted to Fortis Malar hospital with complaints of breathlessness and vomiting along with hypotension. She was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and was waitlisted for a heart transplant.

During the waiting period, Ayesha suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and doctors performed an emergency temporary left ventricular assist device (LVAD) surgery to help pump the heart. After the operation, she was recuperating well with her vital parameters being stable. As a heart for transplant was not immediately available, and the uncertainty over the waiting period, the doctors at the hospital discussed her condition with the family and decided to do a long duration HVAD procedure instead of a heart transplant surgery.

“A left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, is a mechanical pump that is implanted inside a person’s chest to help a weak heart pump blood. Unlike a total artificial heart, the LVAD does not replace the heart but helps the heart to do its job. In rare cases, LVAD lets the heart recover its normal ability by giving it a chance to rest. It maintains or even improves other organs, helps with doing exercise, and lets the person go through cardiac rehabilitation,” said Dr KR Balakrishnan, director, Cardiac Sciences, Fortis Malar Hospital.