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Heart operation a successThe 79-year-old Tauranga woman who underwent a transcatheter aortic valve implementation at Waikato Hospital in Hamilton today is comfortable in the cardiac care ward after her two-hour operation. Ramona Johnson paid tribute to the doctors who performed the two-hour procedure and to the nursing staff. She was one of two patients who underwent the procedure today. The operations are only possible thanks to the generosity of the Waikato Heart Trust and a private benefactor who gifted more than $300,000 to cover the cost of the valves for the procedures. Waikato Hospital's Dr Sanjeevan Pasupati is one of a few cardiologists in the world with experience in this procedure. Dr Pasupati and his Hamilton colleague Dr Gerry Devlin performed the procedures under the supervision of Dr Jean-Claude Laborde, one of the inventors of the CoreValve used. Waikato District Health Board is to prepare a business case for the Ministry of Health after the completion of 12 procedures. A media conference is scheduled for 6pm at Waikato Hospital where doctors involved will discuss how the day went. If you are unable to attend you can ring in on 083033 and then 170162. Interview with Fraser Wilson of Gisborne who will be one of two more patients likely to have the procedure tomorrow. Still photos from today's procedure. Video coverage is also available on request. Date: Thursday, August 28, 2008 Mary Anne Gill |