Shillong, July 2: The Department of Cardiology at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) has successfully performed a rare and life-saving minimally invasive heart procedure on a 27-year-old woman, marking a significant milestone in advanced cardiac care in eastern India.
The patient was suffering from severe tricuspid valve leakage and intractable right-sided heart failure, a complication that developed years after undergoing open-heart surgery for a congenital heart defect. Doctors said a second open-heart surgery carried an extremely high risk of complications and mortality.
A multidisciplinary Heart Team led by Prof. Animesh Mishra, Head of the Department of Cardiology, along with Prof. Manish Kapoor and Prof. Amit Malviya, successfully carried out a Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Repair (TTVR) in collaboration with the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS) and Anaesthesia departments. The three-hour procedure was supported technically by Meril Life Sciences, and the patient is now recovering well in the Intensive Cardiac Care Unit (ICCU).
According to NEIGRIHMS, this is the first time such a procedure has been performed in eastern India. Only eight similar procedures have been carried out across the country so far, making the achievement particularly significant. The institute also stated that this is the first time in India the procedure has been successfully performed on such a young patient.
The institute further highlighted that the treatment was provided at less than half the cost charged by many other centres in the country, offering new hope to patients in the Northeast suffering from severe heart valve disorders and heart failure.
Prof. Animesh Mishra said the minimally invasive procedure provided a life-saving alternative for patients who faced extremely high risks with conventional surgery. He noted that such advanced treatment is currently available at only a handful of centres in India.
Congratulating the medical team, NEIGRIHMS Director Prof. Nalin Mehta described the achievement as a major milestone for eastern India. He praised the team’s commitment to delivering world-class, affordable healthcare and said the success further strengthens NEIGRIHMS as a leading centre for advanced cardiac interventions through teamwork and patient-centric care.
