The AFMS (Armed Forces Medical Services) has earned yet another feather in its cap as Pediatric Cardiology team at Army Hospital (Research & Referral), New Delhi performed non surgical transcatheter implantation of cardiac (Pulmonary) valve in two more children suffering from congenital heart defect, through a small ‘nick’ in the groin. The girl, aged 8 years and weighed mere 28 kilograms, is the youngest and smallest child in the country to have undergone this non surgical valve implantation, particularly in the Government sector.

The complex advanced intervention was performed on Oct 28 under aegis and able guidance of Lt Gen Daljit Singh, DGAFMS, who is the senior most serving pediatrician of the Armed Forces, Lt Gen Arindam Chatterjee, DGMS (Army) and Lt Gen Ajith Nilakantan, Commandant, Army Hospital (R&R). The team has so far performed 13 cases of Pulmonary valve implantation in the last one year, which is the highest amongst the two Government institutes in the country which have done such cases.

Till this procedure was introduced in the AFMS by the team at Army Hospital (R&R) on 07 Oct 2022, the cardiac (pulmonary) valve used to be replaced through an open heart by-pass surgery, which is not only extremely painful and cumbersome but also carries significant risk of morbidity and mortality as well as prolonged hospital stay. With this novel non surgical procedure, the patient is discharged within 2-3 days post intervention, without any scar on the body. The introduction of this path breaking highly specialized non surgical intervention in the Armed Forces and Government sector of the country is a game-changer and has opened up fresh avenues for many such children requiring valve replacement, with significantly improved quality of life. It is a quantum leap towards providing advanced cardiac care in children and ushers a new era not only for the AFMS but also for other government hospitals of the country, taking them to a new higher platform. 

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ABB/Anand

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