Max Hospital Doctors Save Fatehpur Woman with Rare Emergency Open-Heart Surgery

Lucknow : In a rare and high-risk emergency operation, doctors at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Lucknow performed a life-saving open-heart surgery on a 46-year-old woman from Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh. The patient, Nazma Bano, was admitted to the emergency room in a critical condition in the early hours of May 30, with a dislodged heart device, ruptured heart tissue, and nearly unrecordable blood pressure.

Nazma had a congenital heart defect known as Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) — a hole between the heart’s upper chambers. She had undergone a routine device closure procedure in Prayagraj on May 29. Unfortunately, the device slipped from its intended position and got lodged near one of the heart valves. During the attempted retrieval, a major heart vessel – the left atrial appendage – ruptured, causing massive internal bleeding around the heart and rapidly deteriorating her condition.

Since the local hospital lacked facilities for complex heart surgery, the family urgently contacted Dr. Vishal Srivastava, Associate Director of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at Max Hospital, Lucknow. Realizing the severity, Dr. Srivastava advised an emergency temporary drainage procedure and autologous blood transfusion to stabilize the patient enough for transfer to Lucknow.

“When Nazma reached the emergency around 3:30 a.m., she was semi-conscious and in cardiogenic shock. Blood pressure was unrecordable. Within minutes, she suffered a cardiac arrest,” Dr. Srivastava recalled. “We immediately initiated CPR, but she showed no response. Thankfully, our emergency and surgical teams were already on alert. We rushed her to the operating room, continued CPR, and began internal cardiac massage after opening the chest.”

With no time to spare, Dr. Srivastava and his team decided to proceed with an emergency open-heart surgery. The operation lasted about four hours and involved removing the dislodged device, repairing the ruptured heart tissue, and closing the original ASD defect.

Post-surgery, Nazma was moved to the ICU and kept under constant monitoring. Her condition began to improve steadily, and within a week, she was discharged in stable and healthy condition. “She has now returned to her routine life without complications,” said Dr. Srivastava.

This remarkable case underlines not only the importance of timely surgical intervention but also the preparedness and skill of the Max Hospital Lucknow team. In a situation where every minute counted, expert coordination and rapid response saved a life that hung by a thread.

Max Hospital continues to emerge as a leader in critical cardiac care in Uttar Pradesh, offering hope in even the most challenging medical emergencies.