The baby just weighed 2.2 kg and doctors said it was a true pediatric emergency. (Representational)
Doctors at a city hospital performed an open-heart surgery on a three-week-old infant who was suffering from a rare heart condition, offering her a new lease of life.
The 19-day-old baby was admitted to the hospital on April 10 as an emergency case. Doctors said the case presented huge challenges at every step.
The baby was diagnosed with Infra Diaphragmatic Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection with was not letting oxygenated blood from her lungs reach the heart.
"The blood had to reach the heart in some way to sustain life. In her condition, the blood was draining through a channel which was joining a vein in the liver. Due to this, the lung pressures were very high”, said Manisha Chakrabarti, senior consultant, Pediatric Cardiology at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.
This condition was a true pediatric cardiac emergency, she said.
At the time of admission, the baby's lung pressures were very high but the biggest problem was her overall health. She weighed just 2.2 kg and was very weak, Dr Chakrabarti added.
“This was probably the smallest baby (in terms of weight) to undergo an open-heart surgery at our institution. So her treatment method was also distinctive”, she added.
Detailing the surgical procedure, Muthu Jothi, senior consultant and pediatric cardio thoracic surgeon at the hospital said they stopped the blood circulation completely for 30 minutes.
"To ensure that her organs don't suffer from shock, especially the brain, we lowered her body temperature by placing ice around her body. During this time the channel was closed and the chamber was connected to the left side of the heart," Dr Jothi said.
The baby girl was put on a heart-lung machine for the procedure. After successfully connecting the systemic circuit of the blood vessels in the correct order, circulation was slowly re-established and she was taken off the heart-lung machine, he added.
After the operation, the baby was in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for one week and her recovery was uneventful. Post-operative ECHO revealed good recovery and she was discharged on April 21.
"She has been coming to us for follow up and I am delighted to see her doing well. She has been gaining weight and is expected to make a full recovery soon, Dr Jothi said.
The child's father said, It was an immensely distressing experience, having to witness their child go through so much.
"The happiness of her birth was overshadowed by her ailment. We are grateful to the doctors who gave out daughter back to us with their tireless efforts”, he said.