JOIN USDoctors at GB Pant Hospital have successfully treated a 13-year-old girl suffering from blue baby syndrome. Though she had the disease since birth, the blueness of her body was removed only now after a seven-hour surgery.
According to Dr D K Satsangi, head of the cardiac department, the girl had one of the rarest conditions leading to impure blood being transfused in the body.
Blue baby syndrome is a congenital disorder which exists from birth. But the family got to know about her condition only five years ago.
“Kavita always used to get breathless on slight physical work. But then she started vomiting blood too,” said Kavita’s father, Sashi Kumar, who is an autorickshaw driver
She was taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, but the doctor referred her to G B Pant or All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The girl was treated on July 19 by a team of doctors led by Dr Saket Aggarwal and Dr Subodh. She has shown substantial recovery, but is still in the intensive care unit. The father said her body does not look blue anymore, but he remains tense waiting for her complete recovery.
In medical terms, Kavita was suffering from “congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries”.
Dr Satsangi said this was a rare case. Right arturium of impure blood was transposed with the left arturium carrying pure blood. Along with this the pumping vessels also got transposed. With all the four parts being transposed, the body could function properly. However, her right ventricle could not take the pressure of sending blood to the entire body.
In normal case, the right ventricle sends blood to the lungs and is weaker than the left ventricle. A hole between the ventricles also created trouble.
Thus, the body was getting impure blood and Kavita’s body looked blue.