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NICVD to resume LVAD transplants after completion of training

By Our Correspondent
October 12, 2019

The National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) has said that after the completion of the training of their technicians, paramedics and nursing staff for the post-operative care, they were now looking for heart failure patients for the transplant of Left Ventricle Assist Device (LVAD) so that they could live a normal and healthy life.

“The training of our paramedical and nursing staff to take care of patients who receive LVAD devices has been completed and now we are in the processing of identifying candidates for the transplant of mechanical device that is implanted in the chests of patients whose hearts do not work properly,” said Prof Nadeem Qamar, executive director of the NICVD, talking to journalists on Thursday.

He said the LVAD is a mechanical pump that is inserted in the chest of patients of heart failure and it helps them to live a normal life, but due to sensitivity of the procedure and to avoid complications, patients need serious post-operative care that is not possible without the help of trained and qualified staff.

He maintained that last year, a team of surgeons implanted five LVAD devices to the hearts of patients whose hearts were not functioning properly. He added that of them, three died due to various complications while two were alive and living normal lives. “LVAD is very complicated device and it requires highly skilled surgeons and technicians to implant to the patients facing hear failure. We are fortunate to have Dr Pervaiz Chaudhry, who is an American qualified and trained surgeon. We are now identifying suitable candidates so that they could be fitted with LVAD after completion of training of our staff,” he maintained. To a query, he said that NICVD has at the moment four LVAD devices in its store which could be used for the next two years and each device costs around one million but NICVD does not charge even a single penny from patients for the procedure and the device.

He said all other types of implants, including pacemakers and complicated procedures like TAVI, were also being done at the NICVD on a regular basis. H added that people from across Pakistan were now visiting the NICVD for costly procedures that were being done for free.