Doctors at the Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital have successfully repaired heart defects in six patients through device closure, a minimally invasive, catheter-based procedure. The patients included a five-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman diagnosed with patent ductus arteriosus, a congenital heart defect. The other four patients—a 29-year-old woman, a four-year-old boy, a 14-year-old boy, and a 15-year-old boy—had atrial septal defect.
Diagnosis and Treatment
All heart defects were identified through echocardiography. Hospital dean Dr. J. Devi Meenal informed reporters on Saturday that the defects were fully corrected using an interventional device. The procedures were conducted by a multidisciplinary medical team comprising doctors and nurses from the cardiology, anaesthesiology, and cardiology surgery departments, along with doctors from a private hospital.
Cost and Insurance Coverage
Each procedure typically costs between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, but all were performed free of charge under the Chief Minister's Insurance Scheme. According to the dean, a total of 15 patients have undergone device closure cardiac procedures at the hospital. Recently, a 29-year-old woman also underwent open-heart surgery at the same facility.
