The story of an 83-year-old man with severe heart disease who made a miraculous recovery

Emergency rescue of critical patient

Previously, an 83-year-old man with severe heart disease was taken to the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City in critical condition with a series of serious problems such as: severe shortness of breath, progressive acute heart failure, and especially acute pulmonary edema due to the consequences of severe mitral valve regurgitation after an acute myocardial infarction.

Not stopping there, a history of cerebral infarction further complicates the situation, requiring a meticulous and comprehensive treatment strategy.

Upon admission, doctors conducted a comprehensive assessment to determine the exact extent of the injury.

Doppler echocardiography results showed that the patient had severe mitral valve regurgitation due to papillary muscle rupture, causing blood to reflux, forcing the heart to work too hard, leading to pulmonary congestion, pleural effusion, and eventually acute pulmonary edema.

Further tests also confirmed severe heart failure, along with brain MRI showing old brain infarcts.

In addition, the coronary angiography revealed severe narrowing of the coronary arteries, causing prolonged myocardial ischemia. All of these factors put the patient at extremely high risk if surgery was performed immediately.

Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital organized a multidisciplinary consultation, bringing together cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, anesthesiologists and other related specialists.

After careful consideration, the doctors decided to apply aggressive medical treatment before surgery.

This phase focuses on controlling heart failure, optimizing renal and respiratory function, and improving the patient's general condition. The primary goal is to minimize the risk of complications during and after surgery and to facilitate the recovery process.

After the patient was more stable, the cardiovascular surgery team performed a complex surgery: replacing the biological mitral valve and coronary artery bypass grafting.

The choice of a biological valve over a mechanical valve is carefully considered to minimize the risks associated with long-term anticoagulant use, which is especially important for the elderly who often have multiple comorbidities.

At the same time, coronary artery bypass surgery helps restore blood flow to the heart muscle, reducing the risk of future myocardial infarction.

Dr. Cao Dang Khang, Head of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, shared: “Elderly patients often have many underlying diseases, so it is extremely important to develop a suitable treatment strategy, optimize the patient's condition before surgery and choose the safest surgical method. The harmonious combination of preoperative medical treatment, advanced surgical techniques and professional anesthesia and resuscitation has created the success of this surgery.”

Miraculous recovery, beyond expectations

Careful preparation by the cardiac anesthesia and resuscitation team played a key role in the patient's rapid recovery after surgery.

Just two days after surgery, the patient was able to sit up, walk gently and gradually return to daily activities.

The shortness of breath completely disappeared, and the heart function improved significantly as verified by post-operative echocardiography, showing that the new mitral valve was functioning effectively, with no more valve leakage causing reflux.

Notably, the patient's kidney and respiratory functions also recovered well, without complications common in the elderly after heart surgery such as acute kidney failure, respiratory failure, or pneumonia.

Sharing about her father's arduous treatment journey, Ms. LTTT, the patient's daughter and also a cardiologist, could not hide her joy and emotion: "At first, my family was extremely worried because of my father's old age and many underlying diseases. But thanks to the dedication and professionalism of the doctors and the appropriate treatment regimen, my father recovered miraculously, beyond all expectations. He even wanted to drive his motorbike to the hospital for a follow-up examination because he felt much healthier!"

The success of this surgery once again confirms the pivotal role of personalized treatment in the field of cardiology.

Instead of applying a general regimen to all patients, developing a separate treatment regimen, based on each person's specific health condition and pathologies, has helped optimize treatment results and minimize potential risks.

This is also the direction that the hospital's Cardiovascular Center always persistently pursues, with the goal of bringing the highest treatment efficiency, especially for high-risk patients and patients with complex medical conditions.

According to Dr. Cao Dang Khang, remarkable advances in the field of cardiovascular surgery and anesthesia and resuscitation, combined with modern medical treatments, have opened up opportunities for recovery and significantly improved quality of life for elderly patients with complex cardiovascular diseases, cases where cardiovascular surgery was previously considered impossible.

The story of this patient's spectacular recovery is a vivid testament to the relentless efforts of the Vietnamese medical team in conquering medical challenges, bringing faith and hope to the community.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/cau-chuyen-cu-ong-83-tuoi-mac-benh-tim-nang-hoi-phuc-ngoan-muc-post868062.html