When Mohammed Arshad, born on October 29, was kept at the intensive care unit of a hospital in Cuddalore, his parents did not know their baby was in mortal danger.
After two days, when the baby turned blue, the hospital advised them to seek treatment in a better- equipped facility in Puducherry or Chennai.
Syed Yusuf, his father, recalled that it was raining heavily and JIPMER in Puducherry did not have a bed for the baby. They then admitted the baby to another private hospital.
The doctors there said Arshad suffered from cardiac disease and required surgery. The hospital administered first-level treatment and helped shift Arshad with ventilator support to the Kanchi Kamakoti CHILDS Trust Hospital in Chennai. At KKCTH, doctors said he might have to undergo surgery in two days, Mr. Yusuf said.
Arshad’s great arteries were transposed, resulting in poor oxygenation of blood. Cardiothoracic surgeon Prashanth Shah led a team of doctors who, in a five-hour surgery, switched the arteries on November 3.
Breaking new ground
It was the first major complex cardiac surgery the hospital had undertaken, said S. Balasubramanian, medical director, KKCTH.
Mr. Yusuf is an employee of the Thai Consulate in Chennai.
He said the treatment cost ₹7.5 lakh. “The doctors said it was risky but I was willing to take the risk,” he said.
Doctors said timely diagnosis and availability of facilities could prevent such deaths. Every maternity hospital should have not just a pulse oxymeter but also trained technicians to read the ECHO, said Rahul Yadav, who heads the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital.
Hospital CEO S. Chandramohan said funds had been allocated to treat cardiac complications in children from poor families.
