A 46 year old male was admitted in Desun Hospital, Kolkata with severe chest pain. Upon conducting ECG and other tests, it was revealed that his heart was located on the right side of the chest, which is not normal. He was suffering from acute heart attack-acute myocardial infraction, which is basically a myocardial necrosis that results due to an acute coronary artery obstruction and leads to discomfort in chest with or without nausea and diaphoresis. His other organs were also located on the wrong side, a rare phenomenon known as 'situs inversus' in medical literature.

The patient complained of breathlessness. Even climbing a few stairs or walking for a short distance became a troublesome affair for him and he would often be very tired, the hospital said in a statement.

Desun performed his coronary angiogram- quite a difficult procedure that takes dynamic pictures of the patient’s heart. This procedure is mainly conducted to check if the coronary arteries are narrowed or blocked. It also searches for any abnormalities present in the heart valves or muscle.

The procedure was a great challenge from the technical point of view because of the reverse anatomy. It was evident that one major coronary artery- Left Anterior Descending (LAD) was totally occluded or closed in simple terms. This totally occluded LAD was successfully opened and reanalyzed with balloon and medicated stent. All these procedures were performed via artery in the hand- Radial approach, rather than conventional femoral approach. The treatment options were indeed challenging.

There are very few case reports of coronary angioplasty, which is a procedure to open the clogged heart arteries. All similar procedures were performed by conventional femoral approach. So, coronary angioplasty in a dextro heart by radial approach, a great challenge for any cardiologist, was carried out successfully in Desun Hospital. A person who could not even walk without panting got a new lease of life courtesy the hospital.

“We will be perpetually grateful to Desun Hospital for such an intervention at a reasonably low cost and an early release from the hospital,” said a family member.

“Desun gives due significance to effective healthcare irrespective of the economic stability of the patients. We aspire that in the near future; Desun will be coming forth with new milestones and will be setting new benchmarks. Congratulations to the whole team and our colleagues for their exemplary dedication and commitment towards their patients”, said Kamalika Dutta, Director of DESUN Hospital.