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BANGALORE: At 108, Muniyappa G from Karnataka’s Kolar district, has undergone a successful angioplasty at St John’s Medical College Hospital in Bangalore. He is back on his feet now.

 On January 24, he was brought to the hospital after he complained of acute breathlessness, chest pain and fatigue. Diagnosed with a mild heart attack, his angiogram showed a 90% block in the main artery of the heart and 80% block in another artery.

 "These blocks were life-threatening and the patient had significant chest pain limiting his routine activities. After much consideration and discussion with the family, we decided to go ahead with the angioplasty," said Dr Kiron Varghese, professor and head of cardiology at St John’s Hospital. Dr Varghese and his team operated upon Muniyappa.

 Conducting angioplasty was technically challenging due to the age factor. "We conducted the angioplasty a fortnight later after adequately preparing ourselves. Local anaesthesia was given. Two platinum chromium drug-eluting stents from Boston Scientific Company were implanted in his arteries. A stent is a small mesh tube that’s inserted into a narrow heart artery to clear the blocks. We must appreciate his confidence and speedy recovery," said Dr Varghese. Muniyappa is now able to walk on his own and is totally free from pain.

 According to St John’s Hospital, Muniyappa may be the oldest patient in the world to undergo the medical procedure. "The oldest patients who underwent angioplasty previously were a 97-year-old from Kolkata, a 91-year-old from London and a 104-year-old from Noida. We checked worldwide. And this was the recent data available. So we believe that Muniyappa is the oldest patient," said Dr Varghese.

 Muniyappa’s Aadhaar card — he got it five months ago — bears his year of birth as 1906. "I do not know the month I was born. I got married when I was 40," he recalls.

 He comes from a family where many have lived beyond their 90s. His father died when he was 95 and mother at 85. "His elder brother Kempanna died eight years ago, when he was 110," said Muniyappa’s third son M Krishnappa. Muniyappa has six children and over 20 grandchildren. "Ours is a big family. Two of his great grandchildren are due to get married soon," said Narayanswamy, a nephew.

 Muniyappa blushed when asked how many grandchildren he has. "I can’t recall. There are many," he said.

 "I had gone to an informal school for class 1 and then discontinued. I have seen Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Nehru during the independence struggle. Those days, I used graze goats in the forest."

 He said he is healthy. "I get up at 4am every day and read the Bible. I drink wheat grass juice, juice from green grass (garike) and aloe vera. I am the only surviving person of my generation in my village."