PIC Implants First Pulmonary Valve in Teen Without Cut

Kamran Ali

Peshawar: For the first time in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s medical history, a successful heart operation is conducted without chest compressions.

As per details, the Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC) successfully performed the history’s first pulmonary valve implantation procedure in a child without a cut. Abdul Aziz, a 17-year-old boy from Peshawar, underwent surgeries abroad, due to which his lung valve stopped working.

The procedure was uneventful with no complications. Cardiologists from across the globe appreciated Dr Ijaz and his team at the PIC for making this province and Pakistan proud at the national and international levels, said PIC Spokesperson Riffat Anjum on Thursday.

He informed that this procedure was conducted by PIC Paediatric Cardiology Head Dr Ijaz Hussain along with the cardiology team, Lady Reading Hospital Paeds Cardiology Head Dr Sadia Ilyas, and doctors from the UK and UAE.

Along with Abdul Aziz, his father is happy with the successful operation. He is happy that his son will also be able to spend his boyhood like other children. This successful surgery has generated hope for children suffering from complicated heart diseases, he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that the PIC is the first public-sector cardiac hospital in the province to achieve this milestone by successfully performing the first-of-its-kind implantation of a pulmonary valve on a 17-year-old patient and brightening the lives of children suffering from complex heart diseases in the province, said PIC Spokesperson.

Riffat Anjum further stated that Prof Ijaz along with his teams performed the implantation procedure on a child suffering from post-operative TOF (Tetralogy of Fallot), with shortness of breath and palpitations.

The patient previously had three surgeries in Peshawar, Lahore, and India in 2006, 2008, and 2010, respectively, but after his third surgery, his pulmonary valve was damaged and he had signs of valvular insufficiency.

Dr Ijaz told that there were two options for them: either go for open heart surgery or noninvasive percutaneous valve replacement, adding that due to the previous three surgeries, this was a high-risk surgery, therefore non-invasive percutaneous pulmonary valve replacement was offered to the patient.