“Ten years ago such an intervention would have been unwise”: 99-year-old heart surgery patient

At 99 years old, the Cantalian begins a new life. Suffering from coronary heart disease, the almost centenarian man, who had already undergone bypass surgery at the age of 85, has just undergone surgery at the Gabriel-Montpier University Hospital in Clermont-Ferrand, which is quite exceptional given his age. There was no operation for him, it was too risky, but the delicate operation, which lasted about twenty minutes, was crowned with success.

“The principle is to go through the radial artery of the wrist and approach the diseased coronary arteries to treat them,” describes Professor Motreff, the interventional cardiologist who treated this unusual patient. “The medical procedure remains rare at this age, but coronary heart disease is increasingly being treated even in old age thanks to technological advances. Ten or fifteen years ago such intervention would have been unwise. Today it is performed without general anesthesia with excellent results. »

Hospitalized as an outpatient, “the patient is doing very well and was able to return home to Cantal the next day,” comments the hospital management, confirming the information published in La Montagne. “This type of operation at this age has rather a philosophical meaning,” continues Professor Motreff. We agreed with his family that the patient still had significant vitality to warrant consideration of intervention. He sent me a very nice message this morning to thank me for taking care of him,” says the cardiologist, who hopes to see his patient celebrate his 100th birthday next spring.