58-year-old undergoes catheter-based replacement of two failing heart valves

Dignitaries announcing the successful completion of a completely catheter-based replacement of two failing heart valves without repeat open-heart surgery for a 58-year-old man at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai on Friday.

| Photo Credit: RAGHUNATHAN SR

A 58-year-old man has successfully undergone a completely catheter-based replacement of two failing heart valves without repeat open-heart surgery at Kauvery Hospital in Alwarpet.The patient had undergone a Ross procedure nearly 25 years ago, in which the patient’s own pulmonary valve was used to replace a diseased aortic valve, while the pulmonary valve was replaced with a donor valve.Madhu Shankar, the cardiothoracic surgeon who performed the Ross procedure on the patient along with renowned cardiac surgeon late K.M. Cherian, said that over time, both replacement valves had deteriorated, leaving the patient with severe aortic and pulmonary valve regurgitation, pulmonary hypertension, recurrent episodes of heart failure, and impaired kidney and liver function. He had been considered too high-risk for a second open-heart surgery.Following an evaluation using three-dimensional echocardiography and cardiac CT imaging, a multidisciplinary team, including Rajaram Anantharaman, director of Transcatheter Heart Valve Therapies and Kamal Kant, consultant interventional cardiologist, opted for a completely catheter-based approach.Dr. Anantharaman said the pulmonary valve was replaced using a transcatheter valve after the existing conduit was prepared with covered stents and balloon dilatation. The diseased aortic valve was then replaced with a balloon-expandable transcatheter valve. The procedure, performed in a hybrid operating room under general anaesthesia, also involved extensive AI-based predictive modelling and virtual valve implantation to aid planning, Dr. Anantharaman said.The patient recovered without complications and was discharged after a short stay in the intensive care unit. At a two-week follow-up, the doctors said his symptoms had improved significantly. Published - July 11, 2026 05:30 am IST