Prayagraj: In a major relief for kidney patients facing long waits for dialysis, govt-run Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital has augmented its treatment capacity with five advanced dialysis machines, taking the total to 15. The addition is expected to ease the rush of patients and significantly cut the waiting time for the life-saving procedure.The new machines have been installed at the dialysis unit on the ground floor of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) building.Head of nephrology department, Arvind Gupta said nearly 1,000 dialysis sessions are conducted at the hospital every month, while over 500 patients have to wait for their turn. Around 200-250 patients visit the nephrology OPD daily, of whom nearly 30-35% require dialysis. Several critically ill patients referred from other hospitals also require regular dialysis.Dialysis unit technical officer, Virendra Kumar Kushwaha said each session takes around four hours. The five additional machines are expected to boost the unit’s capacity by nearly 40%, helping reduce the waiting period for patients requiring regular treatment.Meanwhile, in another medical achievement, doctors at SRN Hospital’s cardiology department successfully treated a five-month pregnant woman suffering from severe mitral stenosis without resorting to open-heart surgery.The doctors performed Balloon Mitral Valvotomy (BMV), a minimally invasive procedure, claimed to be the first of its kind performed during pregnancy in Prayagraj division.The 25-year-old woman from Manda had been suffering from breathlessness, recurrent cough, chest tightness and difficulty lying down or sleeping. Medical examinations revealed severe narrowing of the heart’s mitral valve.During the procedure, doctors inserted a catheter through an approximately 4mm opening and used a 24mm balloon to widen the narrowed valve. A special foetal shield was used to protect the unborn baby from X-ray radiation.Doctors said the procedure significantly improved the pressure gradient across the valve, providing relief from breathing difficulties.The procedure was performed under the supervision of cardiology department head Piyush Saxena by interventional cardiologists Vaibhav Srivastava, Vimal Kumar Nishad and Rishika Patel, assisted by cath-lab technicians.