15 Apr 2011
Aortic Valve Replacement Gives Renewed Life to Shopkeeper from Myanmar
37-year-old Le Le Cho leads a peaceful life in Bago, Myanmar, where she runs a small shop
with her family. But her life changed suddenly
in June 2010, when she was admitted to Bago
Hospital for a fever and abdominal pain.
She spent the next two weeks in the hospital,
where the doctors discovered that her heart
has become enlarged. When the fever
persisted, she was transferred to the main
hospital in Yangon, where she complains of
shortness of breath and coughs.
Doctors at the Yangon General Hospital diagnosed her condition as infective endocarditis
and aortic valve regurgitation. This means she has an infection in her heart and a backflow of blood into the heart from the major blood vessel on the left. Her doctors recommended that she seek treatment at National Heart Centre Singapore for her aortic valve. At the same time, they put her on a full course of antibiotics to treat her infection. It
was six weeks before she was stable enough to travel in early August.
Le Le immediately left for Singapore with her mother and brother where her sister, a permanent resident, joined them here. She consulted with Dr Lim Chong Hee, Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the National Heart Centre Singapore. Le Le was admitted to NHCS for further treatment.
On 11 August 2010, Dr Lim operated on Le Le to replace her faulty aortic valve with a mechanical valve. The surgery is a success and she was discharged ten days later.
“Thanks to Dr Lim’s skills and professionalism, I feel like I have my life back. Before the operation, I cannot lie down on my back, as I would become breathless. I cannot sleep well, have no appetite and feels very weak. The doctors and nurses are great with their encouragement, care and attention. The nurses even offered to change my food when I cannot eat well.” said Le Le, who plans to return to Singapore soon to visit her sister.
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What is aortic valve replacement?
Aortic valve replacement is an open-heart surgery to replace a diseased aortic valve with a mechanical or biological one. Biological valves made from animals typically last 10 to 15 years before they need to be replaced. They have the advantage of not needing life-long blood thinning medication to prevent blood clots from forming on the valve surfaces. Mechanical valves, on the other hand, are extremely durable and can last up to 40 years. However, a patient fitted with a mechanical valve will need to take anti-coagulation (blood thinning) medicine for the rest of his or her life.
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What is an open-heart surgery?
Open-heart surgery involves operating on structures inside or on the surface of the heart. The surgery consists of exposing the heart through an incision in the sternum (chest bone). The patient is connected to a heart-lung machine, which acts as an artificial heart and lung so that the surgeon is able to stop the heart and operate in a relatively bloodless condition.
A newer type of surgery is minimally invasive heart surgery, or keyhole surgery. Minimally invasive surgery involves operating on the same structures in the heart via other approaches, by avoiding cutting the sternum or doing a partial cut on the sternum. It uses smaller incisions than traditional heart surgery; the heart surgeon may also use a robotic arm to perform part of the surgery. While keyhole surgery reduces the trauma and recovery time for patients, it is currently not used to treat all heart conditions. Heart doctors will normally evaluate the benefits and risks of each type of surgery to recommend the best surgical option for patients. |
For more information about ASD and other heart conditions, log on to www.nhcs.com.sg