First Hospital In South India To Use Sentinel Device To Reduce Risk Of Stroke During Heart Valve Implantation

Apollo Hospitals Chennai, the flagship hospital of the Apollo Hospitals Group, today announced the successful completion of a procedure using the SENTINEL^TM Cerebral Protection System, a new technology shown to help protect patients from the risk of stroke during a minimally invasive heart valve procedure.

The technology was used for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) on a high risk 89-year-old male patient. Apollo Hospitals Chennai is the first healthcare institution in South India to use this protected TAVI /TAVR technology.

The procedure was carried out by Dr G Sengottuvelu, Senior Consultant & Interventional Cardiologist and his team. Dr Sengottuvelu said, "The patient was an 89-year old male who had a surgical aortic valve replacement in 2006. He presented with severe breathlessness and swelling of the lower limbs. On examination, he was found to have a degenerated aortic valve. He was a very high risk patient as he also suffered from liver disease, severe lung disease with COPD and kidney failure. Surgery was therefore ruled out. TAVI was recommended, but the presence of degenerated valves increased the risk of stroke during the procedure. We therefore used the SENTINEL^TMdevice, which has two filters to reduce the risk of embolization of particles from the degenerated valve."

As a non-surgical alternative to replace the aortic valve in patients with aortic stenosis, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) can help save lives and significantly improve quality of life.

However, like all medical procedures, it may involve some risk. During TAVI/TAVR procedures, embolic debris such as calcium or tissue can break loose, travel through the bloodstream towards the brain, potentially causing neurological damage and resulting in a stroke.

Recent studies have estimated approximately 3% of patients experience a clinically-apparent stroke within 30 days of a TAVR procedure.

The SENTINEL^TM Cerebral Protection System filters, captures, and removes such debris, and is the only US FDA-cleared device to protect the brain against the risk of stroke during TAVI/ TAVR. It has been shown to capture debris flowing toward the brain in 99% of TAVI / TAVR cases, and to reduce the incidence of strokes by 63% within the first 72 hours of the procedure.

Dr G Sengottuvelu, Senior Consultant & Interventional Cardiologist said, "The risk of stroke is a reality of the TAVI procedure and the SENTINEL^TM System has been shown to help reduce that risk.

It is a matter of pride to have performed the first procedure in South India using this device. The patient in this case also had a bovine arch where one large trunk arises from the heart and gives off both the carotid arteries was another challenge.

This is the first time in India that the SENTINEL^TMcerebral protection system has been used in a bovine arch. This is another milestone in our journey of offering patients the latest medical technologies. "

Now the first to use SENTINEL in South India, Apollo Hospitals Chennai was one of the earliest to start TAVI in India. As a Centre of Excellence, Apollo Hospitals Chennai is a high volume centre of TAVI in India. Several new devices were introduced for the first time in the country at the hospital.