Doctor uses novel procedure to treat heart patient

Dr Norbert Augustin with Marissa Soriano. — Supplied photo

A 36-year-old woman diagnosed with a congenital heart condition recovered quickly following a less invasive procedure last month.

According to Dr Norbert Augustin, consultant Cardiac Surgeon at Al Noor Hospital, the Filipina patient had been experiencing shortness of breath and was diagnosed with Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) — a hole in the wall between the two upper chambers of the heart — that progressed in the enlargement of the right side of her heart and damaging the valve between the right atrium and the right ventricle.

To correct her condition, Dr Augustin carried out the two-and-a-half-hour surgery using “highly advanced minimally invasive technique” which allowed direct access to the heart through an incision measuring 6cm to 8cm, as opposed to the 18cm to 25cm-wide incision used in a conventional procedure.

“This technique offers many advantages to patients, including a decreased length of stay in the hospital and faster recovery time; the patient was able to breathe on her own only four hours after surgery and was discharged from the hospital four days later,” said Dr Augustin who has performed several surgeries using the less invasive approach in the past 15 years.

“I’m almost the only one here in this country doing minimally invasive technique, via a small incision through the right chest exactly under the breast, which means, in women, you cannot see the scar.”

“I have been suffering for a long time from chest pain and difficulty in breathing, even with a simple activity such as routine walking. I would feel tired just after taking a few steps,” said Marissa Soriano following her surgery. Despite her diagnosis, she was reluctant to undergo surgery as she “felt uncomfortable undergoing the conventional procedure that requires the breastbone to be split open”.

“It was only last month that I finally decided to undergo the surgery after conducting extensive research… I am feeling better now and I am grateful that Dr Augustin performed this operation through a small incision.”

Dr Augustin said that ASD is one of the most common type of congenital heart disease, however, because of late diagnosis (at the age of 36) this is considered a “rare medical condition (that) unfortunately resulted in many years of suffering and the progression of her medical condition”.

“Usually, these defects are detected during childhood and the best time to close the hole is at the school age of five years, but in some patients, doctors don’t detect these things which means adults have congenital heart disease,” Dr Agustin, who is also the head of Cardiac Sciences at Al Noor Hospital Airport Road, pointed out.

And because it was not diagnosed early, this has caused the dilation of the heart and this shunt the blood flow in the wrong direction, causing high blood pressure in the lung vessels leading to a valve incompetence (leakage), he explained. “I would like to emphasise on the importance of early detection of congenital heart diseases in newborns and the timely intervention for an improved quality of life,” Dr Augustin stressed.

olivia@khaleejtimes.com