Born With a Rare Heart Defect, Treated with Life-Saving Modern Surgery at BM Birla Heart Hospital

Born With a Rare Heart Defect, Treated with Life-Saving Modern Surgery at BM Birla Heart Hospital

When a 32-year-old woman from Kolkata began experiencing worsening breathlessness and frequent palpitations over the past two years, she did not suspect a rare congenital heart condition affecting fewer than one per cent of patients worldwide. Despite undergoing a hole-in-the-heart closure in 2022, her symptoms persisted, prompting her to seek specialised care at BM Birla Heart Hospital.

A detailed cardiac evaluation revealed Ebstein anomaly, a complex congenital disorder marked by severe leakage of the tricuspid valve and enlargement of the right side of the heart. Given her young age and progressively limiting symptoms, surgical intervention became essential—not only to address the condition, but also to preserve long-term quality of life.

The cardiac surgery team, led by Dr. Amanul Haque, Consultant Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon, opted for the advanced Cone Repair procedure, a highly specialised technique that reconstructs the patient’s own tricuspid valve rather than replacing it with an artificial prosthesis. During the surgery, the abnormally positioned valve leaflets were carefully mobilised, reshaped into a cone-like structure, and reattached to the true valve annulus—restoring near-normal valve anatomy and function.

This approach successfully corrected the severe valve leakage while preserving the patient’s natural tissue, significantly lowering the risk of future reoperations and eliminating long-term complications often associated with artificial heart valves.

“The Cone Repair allows us to restore the valve almost anatomically while maintaining long-term durability, as the patient’s own valve tissue continues to function naturally over time. For young patients, this makes a critical difference to long-term outcomes,” said Dr. Haque.

Post-surgery, the patient has shown marked improvement in heart function, with a significant reduction in breathlessness and improved exercise tolerance. She is now recovering well and looks forward to resuming an active, unrestricted lifestyle.

This case highlights how advanced surgical expertise, combined with patient-centric clinical decision-making, can deliver transformative outcomes even in rare and complex congenital heart conditions reinforcing BM Birla Heart Hospital’s commitment to world-class cardiac care with a strong human touch.