An 11-day-old newborn from Kadapa joined the list of the world’s youngest cardiac patients who not only withstood a complex medical surgery but also made a quick recovery. Born with rare and multiple heart conditions, the Paediatric Cardiology team of Apollo Hospitals gave a new lease of life to the male baby, who comes from a lower middle class family.
The baby was detected with a very abnormal right side heart valve called Ebstein’s Anomaly, where the valve is abnormal and leaks profusely.
He also had atresia of pulmonary valve, which meant that no blood flow was going to his lung from the heart for oxygenation.
According to the team of doctors, who handled the case, the baby, born prematurely at 34 weeks of gestation, coupled with growth retardation, had posed a major challenge to them.
“We had detected a cardiac abnormality when the child was still in the womb but the exact nature was not known,” said Girish Warrier, senior paediatric cardiac surgeon, who led the team. “Sometimes, things do not go as per the plan. In this case, we decided to perform the surgery a few months after the baby was born. But, the artery of the baby was closing and therefore it was imperative that cardiac surgery be performed to restore blood flow to the lungs since without surgery, the child would not have survived.”
The surgery was performed on September 14 and that time, the baby weighed only 1.2 kg with a heart size that measured as much as an adult’s thumb. The baby was put on ventilator right from the time of birth.
This type of surgery is a high-risk surgery and Apollo Hospitals Hyderabad is proud to be a pioneer in this field, said Mr. Warrier.
Keeping in mind the fragile condition of the newborn and the size of his heart, a specially designed circuitry had to be used to place the child on bypass. Using a patch, a bleeding valve was closed and thereafter, a shunt was created to provide a reliable source of blood supply to the lungs for purification.
The doctors said that the child had tolerated the procedure well and would be discharged in a couple of days. He might require another two surgeries in future to help him get back to normalcy, they said.
According to medical experts, the mortality rate is as high as 90 per cent for newborns detected with such a condition within a year of their birth and the success rate of surgeries performed for such ailments are also low.
The team of doctors involved with the case includes paediatric cardiologist Kavitha Chintala, obstetrician Prameela Sekhar, cardiac anaesthetist and critical care specialist Meena Trehan, paediatrician Sharmila Kaza and others.
