Heart Patient "Comfortable" After New Procedure
The
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.
Attached is an interview with
Fraser Wilson of Gisborne who will be one
of two more
patients likely to have the procedure tomorrow.
This link
shows a number of still photos from today's procedure.
Video
coverage is also available on
request.
http://www.waikatodhb.govt.nz/photogallery.aspx?category=1132
ends