83-Year-Old Man Receives the First Successful Heart Valve Transplant in Kenya.
A successful heart valve transplant procedure was performed on an 83-year-old man in Nairobi, the first of its type in the region.
Anthony Mutisya 
The Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) cost Ksh.7 million and took two hours to accomplish at Mediheal Hospital in Nairobi.
Shortness of breath plagued the patient, a Catholic priest named Fr. Brambilla Luigi Carlo, whenever he climbed a flight of stairs or rode his bike.
As a result of calcification and restriction in one heart valve, Fr. Carlo was eventually diagnosed with Aortic Stenosis.
The operation was carried out by a team of ten doctors, including Dr. Vijaysinh Patil, who told The Standard that Carlo's heart valve was completely obstructed and needed to be replaced with an artificial one since "there is a 50% death rate in five years."
Dr. Patil explained that due to the patient's advanced age, they had to execute a non-surgical technique that did not need opening Carlo's chest.
“We offered him percutaneous TAVI treatment. He was not willing for open heart surgery because of the high risk,” he said.
The specialists placed a catheter into the right groin to transfer the valve, which was mounted on a balloon navigation system, to the heart for the patient's surgery.
Fr. Carlo is said to have been able to walk six hours after the treatment and will be monitored for two days before being released.
Aortic Stenosis happens when the valve in the main blood channel branching off the heart (aorta) narrows, according to Mayo Clinic.
The narrowing prevents the valve from fully opening, limiting blood flow and making the heart work harder.
The heart may weaken as a result, resulting in chest discomfort, exhaustion, and shortness of breath.
While moderate occurrences may not require treatment, severe cases may necessitate valve repair or replacement surgery.
