Docs successfully operate 11-day old baby

An 11-day old baby was successfully operated by a team of Kasturba Hospital doctors led by Dr Aravind Bishnoi, a CTVS surgeon here, to correct an abnormality identified as Transposition of Great Arteries (TGA), a serious defect in the heart.

The baby is recovering well and the parents are extremely happy with the operation and the care given at the hospital. The baby was delivered in a hospital in Udupi and the parents observed that the child had difficulty in breathing and also had a rapid heart rate and cool and moist skin. Doctors then referred the child for further treatment.

The baby was just one day old when he was brought for treatment to Dr Leslie Lewis, Neonatologist at Neonatal ICU at Kasturba Hospital. On diagnosis, the problem was identified as TGA by Interventional Cardiologist Dr Padmakumar, a condition which occurs due to abnormal development of the fetal heart during the first eight weeks of pregnancy. The large vessels which carry blood from the heart to the lungs, and to the body are connected in a "swapped" manner. The Oxygen saturation was less and this was addressed at the sophisticated Neonatal ICU.

The baby was then referred to Cardio Vascular Thoracic Surgery.

Kasturba Hospital Manipal medical superintendent Dr Avinash Shetty said the occurrence of Transposition of the great arteries (TGA) is very rare. "To perform the surgical intervention on a newborn baby, high level of skillset and precision is essential. Kasturba Hospital now has the services of trained paediatric Cardio-Thoracic Surgeons. Further, in such cases pre-operative and post-operative care including the Neonatal ICU plays a very significant role in the recovery of the baby".

"Normally, oxygen-poor (blue) blood returns to the right atrium from the body, travels to the right ventricle, then is pumped through the pulmonary artery into the lungs where it receives oxygen. Oxygen-rich (red) blood returns to the left atrium from the lungs, passes into the left ventricle, and then is pumped through the aorta out to the body. In transposition of the great arteries, the aorta is connected to the right ventricle, and the pulmonary artery is connected to the left ventricle - the opposite of a normal heart's anatomy.

Fetal cardiac echocardiography is the only way to detect this at early stages. According to the medical experts, such babies would not survive beyond a month and surgery is the only way for survival.