Mumbai man gets Rs90lakh device installed on his chest to keep his heart pumping

The 49-year-old man was shortlisted for a transplant. In the absence of a donor, doctors decided to use the implant, a permanent solution to his illness

A 49-year-old man from Mumbai, who is suffering from end-stage heart failure and has been waiting for a transplant for years, has got an assist device worth Rs90 lakh implanted onto his chest with a link to the heart to keep it pumping. The doctors claim this is the first such surgery of its kind in western and central India.

Arvind Doshi who got Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) to restore the function of his failing heart. (HT)

The implant, called a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD), partially or completely restores the function of a failing heart.

Arvind Doshi, a businessman, suffered a myocardial infarction (heart attack) five years ago. This led to a congestive heart failure, a chronic condition in which the heart doesn’t pump blood as it should. He was shortlisted for a transplant, but in the absence of a donor, doctors decided to use the implant.

“His condition worsened, confining him at home for six months. Doshi had a severe infection, end-stage heart failure, pulmonary tuberculosis and swelling in lungs, which would make a transplant risky,” said a doctor.

Based on clinical evidence, Dr Anvay Mulay, head of the cardiac transplant team, decided to perform a LVAD implant surgery on Doshi. “The surgery, originally considered as a means to make the transplant easy, has now become a permanent solution to end-stage heart failure management. It will work for patients for whom a match is not found in time,” said Dr Mulay.

Experts said that the device enhances the quality of life.

Doshi’s brother Jitendra was initially sceptical about the outcome. “The way Dr Mulay approached my brother rid me of my fears.”

About Thoratec HeartMate III LVAD

This is the most advanced technology available, that works the on principal of Magnetic Levitate and in recent studies done by the industry, suggests, that it has very low rate of thromboembolism, which was a major cause of concern in the earlier generations