Surgeons Repair Heart Valve Instead of Replacing it With a New One

• A 15-year-old boy, Rohit, suffered from severe mitral regurgitation due to mitral valve prolapse. 
• He underwent surgery in Jaipur, where doctors repaired his heart valve instead of replacing it with an artificial one. 
• The surgery was performed by AIIMS Jodhpur and SMS Hospital doctors during a workshop on mitral valve repair held at SMS Hospital.
• Dr. Ram Gopal Yadav, senior professor and unit head of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, said, "Rohit had difficulty breathing. His development was also stunted, and he had difficulty studying. Severe mitral regurgitation is usually treated by replacing the valve and installing a new synthetic valve."
• The cost of installing an artificial valve is high and for the artificial valve to function properly, blood thinners have to be taken for life. 
• There is always a risk of the valve getting choked, and then the surgery of changing the valve again has double the risk.
• Rohit is currently in post-operative cardiac ICU, and the ventilator has been removed.

Source: The Times of India