Novel heart procedure at NIMS gives youth new lease of life

Ashok Banoth, 20, undergoes life-saving heart valve replacement at NIMS, Hyderabad, marking a milestone in his health journey.

Ashok Banoth, a 20-year-old from Narayanpet district, recently underwent a life-saving transcatheter heart valve replacement procedure at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad, marking a milestone in his long journey with a congenital heart problem.

Ashok was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF), a complex heart condition involving four structural abnormalities, when he was five years old. His parents, aware of the need for immediate intervention, took him to a private hospital, where he underwent intracardiac repair, an open-heart surgery to correct the defects.

While the procedure was initially successful, Ashok developed pulmonary regurgitation (PR), a condition wherein the pulmonary valve fails to close properly, causing blood to flow back into the heart’s right ventricle. This complication went undetected at the time, as the leak was mild. However, over the years, the regurgitation worsened, and about four years ago, Ashok began experiencing breathlessness and palpitations, said senior professor of cardiology O. Sai Satish.

Ashok’s family visited several corporate hospitals, where he was diagnosed with severe leakage in the pulmonary valve. Doctors recommended another surgery, estimated to cost ₹25 to ₹30 lakh, an expense far beyond the family’s means.

In search of a more affordable option, Ashok’s family turned to NIMS, where Dr. Sai Satish and his team evaluated him. Given Ashok’s age and health, a second open-heart surgery posed significant risks. Instead, doctors recommended a transcatheter valve replacement, a minimally invasive procedure where a catheter is used to guide a replacement valve to the heart through the blood vessels.

“The doctors explained the procedure and assured us that the cost would be covered in large part by government support... With this help, we decided to proceed with the surgery at NIMS,” said Ashok’s mother.

Of the total amount of ₹15 lakh, ₹10 lakh was covered through the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) and the family bore the remaining ₹5 lakh.