Chennai, April 22nd, 2025: MGM Healthcare successfully performed a complex heart surgery on a 6-year-old boy who was suffering from severe Left Ventricular Outflow Tract (LVOT) obstruction, a critical condition that severely blocked blood flow from his heart to the rest of his body in a dextrocardia heart. The medical team opted for the ‘Modified Konno Procedure’, a highly specialised procedure that relieves the obstruction while still preserving the child’s native heart valves – instead of conventional procedures like Ross procedure that would have involved implantation of artificial valves. The young patient has recovered well, with improved heart function.

The patient had been experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath. Upon his admission, the medical team promptly diagnosed his condition of severe LVOT obstruction that could lead to heart failure or other life-threatening complications, if left untreated. Recognising the urgency, the hospital carried out the surgical intervention to relieve the blockage and restore normal blood flow from the heart. This life saving surgery was performed at MGM Healthcare in collaboration with Aishwarya Trust, ensuring the child receive world class care.

The surgery was successfully performed by Dr. R.K.R. Noveen Davidson, Senior Consultant, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, at MGM Healthcare with anesthesia support provided by Dr. Suresh Rao K.G and pediatric cardiology team.

Talking about the procedure, Dr. Noveen Davidson said that LVOT is a serious heart condition in which the flow of blood from the left ventricle, the main pumping chamber of the heart, to the rest of the body is significantly blocked. To treat the obstruction a Modified Konno Procedure, a complex and advanced heart surgery, was chosen to enlarge the narrowed outflow tract of the left ventricle. The procedure preserves the native valves, thus minimising the risk of repeated valve replacement surgeries in the future, as is the case with conventional Ross procedure.

“The operation was done through the chest bone, with the patient connected to a heart-lung machine to maintain circulation during surgery. The boy’s body was also cooled to a safe, controlled temperature to protect vital organs during surgery. After carefully opening the heart, we identified and removed thickened tissue and fibrous bands that were causing the blockage below the aortic valve. Since the outflow tract was still narrow, we made an additional opening through the right side of the heart to further clear the pathway. We used a medical-grade patch (synthetic patch - PTFE) to widen the passage and enlarged the aortic valve using a patch made from the patient’s own heart covering (pericardium). The heart was gradually brought back to normal temperature and rhythm and began beating on its own. A heart scan during surgery confirmed that the valve was working well and the blood flow from the heart had greatly improved, with no gradient. The patient was safely taken off the heart-lung machine and moved to recovery in stable condition,” he added.

Further Dr. Noveen Davidson added, “Modified Konno Procedure is especially beneficial in patients with severe narrowing that cannot be managed with conventional techniques. It helps improve blood flow from the heart to the rest of the body, reduces strain on the heart muscle, and significantly enhances the patient’s quality of life and long-term heart function”.