In what is being considered a rare surgery, doctors of SDM Narayana Heart Centre (SDMNH), Dharwad, have saved the life of a 20-day-old infant suffering from critical cardiac condition.
According to a press release issued by the hospital, the infant was treated using a complex cardiac intervention called Left Carotid Artery Cutdown followed by balloon dilation of coarctation segment.
The infant (from Hubballi) weighing 2.3 kilograms was brought to SDMNH reportedly after a circulatory shock. On thorough evaluation, it was diagnosed that she had suffered circulatory shock due to a major block in the great artery of the heart.
Further investigation confirmed 95 % block of Aorta (Coarctation) with severe Left Ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Owing to the criticality and complexity of the infant’s condition, she was recommended a complex and rare hybrid procedure called Left Carotid Artery Cutdown followed by balloon dilation of coarctation segment, the release said.
A team of doctors consisting of consultant paediatric cardiologist Arun K. Bableshwar, senior consultant and chief cardiothoracic surgeon Ravivarma Patil and cardiac anaesthetists successfully performed the procedure recently opening up the major block making the baby girl immediately recover from the shock.
According to Dr. Arun Bableshwar, coarctation of the aorta is a birth defect in which a part of the aorta is narrower than usual. If the narrowing is severe enough and if it is not diagnosed, the baby may have serious problems and may need surgery or other procedures soon after birth.
According to Dr. Ravivarma Patil, the biggest challenge was the age of the baby which was just 20 days old making it risky. Considering the low weight, it was difficult to access the neck artery (3 mm to 4 mm diameter) for cutdown and to restitch it after the procedure. “We are glad that we could save the baby,” he said in the release. After a three-day stay in the hospital, the baby girl has been discharged from the hospital.
