ADK Hospital has successfully completed Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) for the first time in the Maldives.
TAVI procedure is less invasive than traditional open-heart surgery. The doctor will guide a thin, flexible tube with the heart valve through the incision, into the artery, and to the diseased valve.
A Senior Interventional Cardiologist from India was on hand to assist the ADK Hospital team to complete this procedure on an 81-year-old local male for the very first time in the Maldives.
Speaking at the press briefing held today, Dr. Mohamed Shafiu, who led the team said that heart valves usually get complications due to old age, thus they have to be replaced as soon as possible.
“People face many complications due to old age. For example, it could be liver failure, stroke, kidney disease, and many more. So, an open heart surgery would lead to more complications due to surgical stress”, he added.
Dr. Mohamed Shafiu also highlighted that this surgery does not consume much time unlike open surgery which is usually up to 6 hours. Moreover, patients can be discharged from the hospital within 2 days compared to open heart surgery patients requiring up to 7 days for recovery. He also said that they are keen to do more procedures like this in this future.
ADK Hospital’s Managing Director Ahmed Aflah said this is a very proud moment for the hospital and they always aim to introduce new services and facilities to the Maldives.
After the first successful TAVI procedure, Maldives has become the third nation in Asia to successfully complete the procedure after India and Bangladesh.
