Durdans Hospital Heart Centre conducts pioneering high-risk minimally invasive cardiac procedures that give a new lease of life to individuals dealing with hard to diagnose heart conditions. Mrs. D. Fernando (41), a patient with end stage heart failure, saw her heart function improve dramatically through a novel cardiac intervention that involved the use of harvested stem cells.
Hailing from Kalutara, Mrs. Fernando had been dealing with a heart condition for nearly 05 years and was at a loss for any hope of recovery. Mrs. Fernando says, “I was unsure where my life would lead, everyone I consulted about my condition said that nothing could be done; that is, until now. Words can’t describe how very happy I am”.
Dr. Pandula Athaudaarachchi, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at Durdans Hospital, known for performing complex coronary angioplasty procedures, performed a high-risk interventional procedure on the 41 year old female diagnosed with only 18% heart function due to severely calcified arteries. Due to poor cardiac function, both bypass surgery and conventional stent options were deemed very high risk.
The procedure which was performed at the state of the art Cath Lab at Durdans Heart Centre, involved the harvesting of stem cells from the patient’s bone marrow. These were then injected into the heart’s coronary beds with the intentional goal of increasing the number of functioning heart muscle cells. The intervention was also aided by the use of sophisticated non-invasive diagnostic imaging system applications such as LV strain and speckle tracking in echocardiogram that enable in-depth monitoring of the heart.
Dr. Athaudaarachchi says, “In six weeks the heart function has doubled from baseline, indicating an improvement of up to 37%. The patient’s heart is stronger following the stem cell procedure that it is possible for her to undergo a bypass heart surgery in the near future”.
Durdans Heart Centre has proven to be a centre of excellence in cardiology, cardiac surgery and cardiac investigative procedures with over 35,000 procedures completed. The centre encompasses an elite panel of resident consultant cardiac specialists and is supported by state-of-the-art equipment that enables the hospital to carry out highly successful cardiac procedures.
For Cardiac channeling appointments call 011 2 140 205/6 or 1344 Durdans Helpline.
