Mozambique Patient’s Affordable TAVR Surgery in India: Success Story

TAVR Surgery – Dr. Ashok Seth

You never know which moment turns out to be the life-defining moment. We all feel fatigued after work, but what was supposed to be simple tiredness turned out to be something that needed my immediate attention. I actually fainted one morning while finishing my last lap of jogging. My medical examination revealed it to be a case of a defective valve. Thanks to Dr. Ashok Seth for Successful TAVR Surgery in India and his team that I was able to avert a life-threatening situation. Now I am living an active life just like any normal person and have no complaints related to my heart condition.

So, what is this all about? If you are thinking this, then let me start by introducing myself. I am Srebrenko Colar from Mozambique. I am in my 50s now. I have always been a happy-go-lucky person. Good food, partying, and a lot of fun has been my way of living. I never cut on alcohol and was considered a party animal. The only good thing I was doing was sticking to my exercise routine. This, however, started to become painful for me gradually. Climbing stairs or jogging started causing me a lot of discomforts and I was always huffed and puffed. I thought maybe it was just a lot of stress that I was going through due to a failing marriage. It, however, turned out to be a nightmare when one morning I passed out.

The doctor checked my ankles, eyes, listened to my heartbeat with a stethoscope. He noticed that my ankles were a bit swollen and my cardiac rhythm was not regular either. When I came to senses, he asked me to meet a cardiologist. My city is in Mozambique, where medical services are not of good quality. I went to the nearest city where the heart hospital was located.

The cardiologist there got my EKG done along with an exercise stress echocardiogram. He shared with me that he wanted to check how blood flow through the heart is doing when I am exercising. It took about a day for me to get the reports. He told me that my heart valve, which he called an aortic valve, was not working properly and so there was an irregularity in blood flow. He spoke to me about the symptoms I had experienced. I told them everything and then he explained to me that I needed heart valve surgery.

It was not something I was expecting. The cardiologist asked me to take the situation in a positive manner and suggested not to worry too much. He told me that the condition was fully curable and with the surgery, the survival rate is improved. All was ok according to him, but my finances were telling me otherwise. I had saved a handsome amount from my career in music, however, affording a surgery was certainly not my plan. Anyway, I started looking for heart valve surgery in my country and all my research told me that the condition of healthcare was too miserable. No hospital was fully equipped to handle the surgery of this level. Going to America was the only suggestion floating around, but the fees and waiting time there was too disheartening.

My friend Ana came to meet me one day. I was resting and looking for the surgeons who had affordable rates to offer. She said, “Why don’t you try medical tourism in India?” I was taken aback by this sudden input and was certainly not prepared for it as I had never heard about it. I asked her what this thing was. She told me:

The idea sounded really fantastic. I wanted to save as much as I could on my treatment, and so I started reading about medical tourism companies. One of the companies I enquired about was India cardiac surgery site- a group of surgeons and hospitals. This company had explained their work, cost of the treatment, procedures available with them, etc. in a very elaborate manner. I got intrigued by it and decided to contact them. I called up their customer care number. The very moment they responded, it felt so right. The person on the other side greeted me very politely and asked me about my motive of calling. On listening to my reason, he asked me to hold the line and transferred the call to a representative. She was a very warm and soft-spoken lady. She took over the conversation in no time and encouraged me to share everything about my health and treatment needs. I told her that my cardiologist was suggesting heart valve surgery. I wanted to know if there is any less invasive way of doing so.

Honestly, I was scared by the idea of having surgery. She told me to relax and calm down. I asked her:

She noted all my questions and answered them one by one. She told me that:

She said that I must act fast as it was the case of the heart valve and suggested me to send her the reports and prescriptions. I told her that I wanted to know if there was any minimally invasive procedure available for Heart Valve Replacement which was less complicated than open-heart surgery. I also requested her to find out if the medication only can help or not. The India cardiac surgery site representative assured me of a speedy reply and shared her email ID where I was supposed to mail her my medical reports.

Meanwhile, I tried to find more about the heart valve problem. This problem was quite common among the people who had blood pressure, were consuming alcohol and had stressful lives. I also read that some kinds of infections also put pressure on the heart disrupting the valve function. I waited for the reply eagerly from the lady of India cardiac surgery site. She came back to me within three days. She told me:

I told her to give me some time. She also suggested to go through the profiles of all the doctors and to take my time to think about it. I called up my friend that day and she visited me in the evening. We both went through the doctor’s profile and finally decided to go with Dr. Ashok Seth Best cardiologist for TAVR Surgery. He was a highly qualified surgeon and has done many surgeries of the type I needed. His track record was impeccable, and he was on the board of various reputed hospitals inIndia. I conveyed the same to India cardiac surgery site representative through email and phone. I asked her what all I needed to get prepared to start the procedure.

Mozambique Patient Gets Successful Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Surgery in India

She told me that all I needed to do was tell her the name of the person travelling with me. She asked me about the probable dates I wanted to come to India. I wanted all of this to end fast. So, I suggested she get everything arranged in a month’s time. She agreed and asked me to send me and my friend’s documents for medical visa purposes. I sent whatever she asked. My tickets and hotel stay details were sent to me by email. I was, honestly, very much touched by the commitment and dedication of the India cardiac surgery site group. They were thorough professionals in their approach and were doing things quite sincerely.

The India cardiac surgery site representative gave me an upfront quote and sent me details of all the things my package contained. It was a very neatly designed package that took care of all aspects of getting medical treatments in India. I was given the best suite in the hospital; my appointments with the doctor were placed on priority. The whole procedure of getting the surgery done in India was as smooth as visiting a doctor in my own city.

Finally, on 25th September 2014, I reached India with my friend. I was very relieved to see a person holding the placard of my name at the airport. It was India cardiac surgery site representative who was assigned to us for this surgery. He drove us to a very plush hotel and asked us to rest. He shared that the doctor was available the next day. I waited eagerly for the next day to arrive. The room was quite spacious for the two of us. It was well-equipped with all modern amenities. Our coordinator was reachable all the time and made us feel very comfortable in the city unknown to us. I was very much relaxed after reaching and the ambiance only added to my comfort.

The next day, we went to see the doctor. He was a very friendly person and looked very confident about his job. He shook hands with me warmly and took me to his cabin for initial tests and examinations. I asked him:

• Were there any risks associated with the TAVR surgery?
• What was the recovery time?
• How soon will I be going back to my homeland?

The doctor looked at my reports, suggested some more tests which we got done at the same hospital. He went through the reports and told me that TAVR surgery was required in my case. He explained to me what the surgery was through videos and diagrams. He also answered my questions. He told us:

• TAVR was the minimally invasive surgery having a survival rate of 98% and more. He had done this surgery multiple times in the past, and so he assured me that I was in safe hands.
• He told me that TAVR surgery recovery time is quite less. I may be discharged in just 48 hours after the surgery.
• He suggested to stay for about a week to let him check the outcome of surgery and so I could go back after 5 days of getting the surgery done.

Dr. Ashok Seth was very understanding and told me not to think too much. He asked me to relax and confirmed to me that I will be back to activity in no time after surgery. He told me that TVR was a minimally invasive procedure, much less complicated than open-heart surgery. This whole procedure requires about two hours. He told me that I will be given general anaesthesia to complete the process. After surgery, I was to be shifted to ICU and the same day by evening to my cottage ward.

My friend stayed in the hospital throughout the procedure. India cardiac surgery site people took very good care of her and gave her all things like food, beverages and comfortable lounge access where she waited for me. It took me about an hour and a half after the operation to come back to senses. I spent that night in ICU and the next day, Doctor came again to see me. He asked me to try to stand up and walk with the help of a walker. I was petrified at first but with his encouragement and support, I showed him that I could walk. He asked me to relax and do actions like taking a deep breath, gulp some water and etc. I did as I was told. Dr informed me that I will be put on some blood-thinning medicines to ensure that no clot is being formed. He told my friend about the post-surgery care and medications.

The doctor saw me again about four days after my surgery. The very next day I was to fly back to my country. He was very satisfied with my condition. He gave me his personal phone number and asked me to contact him whenever needed. He explained to me the follow-up routine, medicines courses that I needed to take and requested me to live a very healthy life. I asked him if I could work again and he said, “Absolutely!” He asked me to start light first, take frequent breaks, and sleep properly. I recovered as expected and came back to my country. All the memories of my visit to India for medical treatment are still vivid, and I must admit those are happy ones.

Cut to present times, I am hale and hearty person. My valve is functioning properly and has never bothered me so far. It was due to the sincere approach of Dr. Ashok Seth and his team that I got the right treatment atthe right time. I honestly consider this phase of my life as second birth, which I fully owe to the India cardiac surgery site- a group of surgeons and hospitals team and the doctor. I highly recommend trying medical tourism in India to all those people seeking the best quality treatments at affordable rates.