One of the most complicated surgeries performed in Lviv to save a man with severe heart disease
In Lviv, one of the most complex interventions in cardiac surgery, the so-called David’s operation, was performed. To return the young man to a full life, cardiac surgeons at St. Panteleimon Hospital joined forces with the director of the Khmelnytsky Regional Cardiovascular Center. Together, they performed an intervention that is considered aerobatics in cardiac surgery.
The patient is 27-year-old Bohdan Tsal from Lutsk. He first learned about his heart problems 4 years ago during a medical examination. At that time, there was no need for surgery. So the doctors prescribed Bohdan medication and recommended that he give up his favorite pastime – running.
At the beginning of this year, the young man’s condition deteriorated sharply.
“It all started with a severe sore throat. At first, I thought I had caught a cold, but no medication helped me. Later, shortness of breath added to this symptom and it became difficult to walk. So I went to the doctor,” says Bohdan.
After the examination, the Lutsk doctors referred the patient to Lviv cardiac surgeons at St. Panteleimon Hospital. Here, specialists diagnosed aortic valve insufficiency. This is an acquired defect, which in Bohdan’s case was caused by an aneurysm, or dilated aorta. The disease led to incomplete valve closure, overload of the left ventricle and severe aortic insufficiency.
Only surgery could save the patient. Given Bohdan’s age and desire to lead an active lifestyle, the best solution for him is the so-called David operation. This is an extremely complicated intervention, during which the damaged valve is reconstructed rather than replaced with an artificial one.
Lviv specialists have not yet performed such an operation on their own, so they engaged someone who already has extensive experience in such interventions. This is Andriy Klantsa, director of the Khmelnytsky Regional Cardiovascular Center. We operated together with him.
“At first, we replaced the aortic root where the aneurysm had formed and installed an aortic prosthesis. Then we started reconstructing the damaged heart valve. We had to preserve its geometry, correctly position and suture the coronary arteries. Technically, this intervention is considered the most difficult in cardiac surgery. It is easier to put in an artificial valve, but such patients have to take blood thinners for life. And your own valve is always better, it’s an active life. We wanted the guy to be able to return to life without restrictions. That’s why we chose valve-preserving surgery,” says Roman Domashych, head of the Heart and Vascular Center at St. Panteleimon Hospital.
The operation lasted 7 hours and was successful. The patient went home on the 10th day after the extremely complicated surgery. Now Bohdan dreams of recovering as soon as possible to run again.