Chennai doctors use heart device to treat vaginal fistula

Chennai: Doctors at Kauvery Hospital in Vadapalani treated a 73-year-old woman suffering from a long-standing colovaginal fistula by repurposing a cardiac occlusion device, originally designed to close holes in the heart, to seal an abnormal connection between the colon and vagina. The procedure offered a definitive solution after years of failed treatments and multiple surgeries.

The minimally invasive intervention involved specialists from gastroenterology and interventional cardiology.

The patient had been living with distressing symptoms since 2018, including passage of faecal matter through the vaginal opening, recurrent urinary tract infections, and persistent discomfort. Over the years, she underwent multiple procedures, including colostomy, hernia repair, and re-anastomosis, but the condition recurred each time.

At Kauvery Hospital, the doctors initially found it difficult to identify the fistulous tract due to dense fibrosis and adhesions from previous surgeries. The team then opted for an unconventional approach adapting a structural heart occlusion device to close the fistula. The procedure required extreme precision, as the device was deployed in a completely different anatomical setting than its intended cardiac use.

Dr T K Anand, senior consultant, medical gastroenterologist and interventional endoscopist, said, chronic fistulas were associated with extensive fibrosis and scarring, making localisation extremely difficult. The case was further complicated by the patient’s history of multiple prior surgical interventions, which had distorted normal tissue planes and made conventional surgical correction less effective, ultimately necessitating a multidisciplinary and innovative approach.