Mangaluru: Shuba (name changed) aged 36yrs hailing from Chitradurga district, a manual labourer, was having breathing difficulty while doing her work since the last 6 months. She also had episodes where she felt her heart beating very fast for a few minutes said Dr. Prem Alva, Consultant Pediatric Cardiologist, A J Hospital and Research Centre.
Shuba was brought to A J Hospital and underwent a thorough evaluation. She was found to have a rare heart defect called ‘coronary cameral fistula’. It is an abnormal connection between the blood supply to the heart and the right sided heart chamber. Her heart size was significantly enlarged.
It was decided to treat the heart defect without surgery by cardiac catheter intervention. She was treated in the AJ Hospital cathlab and underwent a procedure called device closure of fistula with a vascular plug. The team comprised of Dr. Prem Alva, Consultant Pediatric Cardiologist; Dr. B.V. Manjunath, Chief Interventional Cardiologist, Cardiac anaesthesia team Dr. Gururaj Tanrty, Dr. Rakesh and Dr. Suhas.
Shuba was discharged in 3 days and is back to her normal routine. This is the first time such a procedure has been done in Coastal Karnataka said Dr. Prem Alva. The procedure was done entirely free of cost to the patient under the govt. scheme.
