हिंदी
Two-year-old baby with life-threatening congenital heart defect get new lease of life at Fortis Mohali
— A delay in surgery can affect the child’s heart and lungs, and cause fatal complications
Bathinda, November 30, 2022:
The parents of a two-year-old baby were facing a challenging time as the infant was underweight, had trouble breathing along with feed intolerance, and had cyanosis (bluish discolouration around the lips). The worried, Bathinda-based family rushed the baby to Dr Rajat Gupta, Senior Consultant, Department of Paediatric Cardiac Sciences, Fortis Hospital Mohali, in August this year.
Medical examination revealed that the baby had Tetralogy of Fallot–a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD)that causes oxygen-poor blood to flow out of the heart and into the rest of the body.
The term ‘congenital’ refers to a defect present at birth and ranges from a hole in the heart, and tightness of the valve to complex heart diseases. A delay in medical intervention can prove to be life-threatening.
Dr TS Mahant, the senior cardiac surgeon, gave a new lease of life to the baby by correcting the defect through open-heart surgery. The infant was discharged five days after the operation and has fully recovered today.
In the second case, a 7-year-old boy exhibited rapid breathing, heavy sweating, poor growth, and a pale appearance. He was brought to Fortis Mohali recently where medical evaluation revealed that he had Coarctation of the Aorta – severe narrowing in the body’s main artery. This defect puts excessive pressure on the heart and if left untreated, the patient can develop heart failure.
Dr Gupta opened the narrowed artery by balloon angioplasty through a tiny hole in the thigh, thereby avoiding open-heart surgery. The Patient was discharged the following day and is leading a normal life today.
Shedding light on the cases, Dr Gupta, said, “Awareness needs to be spread on the early detection of congenital heart defects. Sometimes, the heart is so malformed that it cannot be fully repaired even with multiple surgeries. In such a scenario, a series of surgical procedures can improve the blood flow, thereby improving the symptoms and prolonging life.”
The Department of Paediatric Cardiac Sciences at Fortis Mohali is the only centre in the region to receive patients not only from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh but also from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Mongolia and South Africa.
