Category : Medical

Times News Network

Chennai : At least two patients at the government multi-speciality hospital in Omandurar underwent valve replacement procedure without open heart surgery for free, health minister C. Vijayabaskar said on Wednesday. The government signed an MoU with senior cardiologist Dr. A.B.Gopalmurugan of Heart Team India to treat complicated cases, he added.
” WE have very capable doctors in the government service. But, if private doctors can bring in new technology and updates, it will help them learn. Eventually, it will benefit all our patients,”
Vijayabaskar said in a meeting organized to celebrate the surgical outcomes. A team of doctors headed by Dr. Gopalmurugan imported aortic valves at about Rs.20 lakh for two patients. ” We did transcatheter aortic valves implantation without opening the patient’s chest. The valve was inserted into the patient through the groin. The procedure costs Rs.30 lakh in most private hospitals. We are now offering it for free to poor patients in GH,” he said.
Doctors are now putting together a list of patients who require such surgeries. ” We are the first government hospital in the country to offer this surgery free of cost,” the minister said.

( The Times of India, Chennai, Thursday, February 28, 2019 ) Courtesy : MPS