100-year-old Greek woman undergoes heart surgery

Greek woman Anna Lazaridou from Kypseli, who celebrated her 100th birthday, is now listed as the oldest patient in Greece and one of the few centenarians in the world to have undergone heart surgery.

A patient suffering from severe calcific stenosis of the aortic valve underwent TAVI surgery at the Second Cardiology Clinic of Errikos Doonan, under the direction of Professor Savvas Toumanidis and interventional cardiologist Vaios Tsifos. The medical intervention went well and Mrs. Lazaridou is now back to her daily life.

A few years ago her case would have been recognized inoperable, since the high surgical risk and associated complications would make intervention impossible.

TAVI, which has now established itself worldwide as the primary and appropriate treatment option for patients over 75 years of age or at high surgical risk, is based on replacing a narrowed aortic valve without surgery.

The procedure is similar to coronary angiography, lasts about an hour, has a hospital stay of 2-4 days and immediately leads to an improvement in the patient’s clinical picture.

“Medical intervention is performed without opening the chest, without temporary cardiac arrest and without general anesthesia. If a narrowed aortic valve is not replaced in time, quality of life will change dramatically and life expectancy will be significantly reduced,” the hospital said in a statement.

“Ms Lazaridou, despite being 100 years old, is independent, lives alone and has already returned to her daily life. She agreed to publicize the operation because she wants to continue to contribute to society as a whole. This is a model for all of us as it sends a message that life has value and we must protect it by all means, regardless of age barriers. For our part, we especially thank her because she is not only an example, but also a source of inspiration,” emphasizes Vaios Tsifos.

It should be noted that Erricos Doonan, Center certified by the Ministry of Health for the TAVI method, with a large number of operations per year, latest generation equipment and specialized medical personnel is a pioneer in the use of an innovative invasive procedure.

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