Ahmedabad, August 07: Doctors at a city hospital today claimed they have come up with a cure for people who have a leaking mitral valve in their heart and this could give a lease of life to critical patients.
“After a heart attack the muscles of heart become weak and as a result it dilates. Due to dilation of heart one of the vital valves – mitral- starts leaking, which could lead to heart failure,” Dr Anil Jain of SAL Hospital told mediapersons here.
“Traditionally the solution suggested by most doctors have been replacement of the valve. But this option is risky and could lead to further deterioration of patients’ health.
We have mastered an alternative treatment where a ring called GeoForm is implanted at the mouth of the valve to stop the leakage,” Jain explained. The ring, made up of titanium, is coated with special cloth fiber which helps in stitching it to valve lining, he added.
Jain’s colleague Dr Srinivas Mallya said they had first used GeoForm in 2005 and since then have implanted 101 such rings in patients which has improved their health.
“The GeoForm ring implant in patients had dual affect; not only did it effectively stop valve leakage but also repaired the dilated heart,” Mallya said.
–Agencies