New Delhi: Most people never think twice about sleeping on their stomach. For Carveann David (35), a restaurateur from Trinidad and Tobago, it had become an impossible luxury.For nearly nine years, lying face down would worsen the fluid build-up caused by advanced right-sided heart failure and a severely leaking tricuspid valve. Breathlessness, swelling and fluid leakage had become a way of life. Doctors back home told her there was little they could do; some suggested a heart-and-lung transplant.Determined to find another option, David went online. ’India’ kept appearing in her searches, eventually leading her to Delhi-NCR. The journey took three days — via Toronto and Zurich. “Even during the flight, the blankets would get drenched from the fluid leaking from her belly and legs,” recalled her mother, Natalie Paul.“It started when I was 27. First came breathlessness, then swelling and fluid build-up. Doctors implanted a pacemaker. But over the last three years, my condition kept worsening. When they said there was no hope, our lives turned upside down,” David told TOI.Even in India, a heart transplant initially seemed the only option, then came ‘pivot extend system’, a permanent transcatheter implant for such cases. Only about 40 such procedures have been performed globally, making David’s case the third in India and the first in Delhi-NCR.The device was specially imported from South Korea after Central Licensing Authority granted approval within five days. The device costs about $15,000, with an import duty of $4,000, while the procedure cost around Rs 2 lakh.The implantation was performed by Dr (Col) Manjinder Singh Sandhu, principal director of cardiology at Fortis Memorial Research Institute Gurgaon.“She had end-stage right-sided heart failure with very limited treatment options. After detailed consultations with the inventor of ‘pivot extend system’, we decided to proceed. The procedure significantly reduced the valve leakage,” Dr Sandhu said. The device’s inventor, Dr Junehong Kim, professor at Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, flew to India to observe the procedure.After undergoing a pacemaker replacement on July 22, David received the implant on July 24. Follow-up scans showed the valve leakage had reduced from torrential to moderate. She was discharged two days later.“Before anything else, I slept on my belly after nine years. It may sound small, but for me, it meant everything,” David said. She now wants to spread awareness about India’s healthcare.
