Docs Saved A Month-old Baby From Rare Congenital Heart Defect
A team of doctors at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh performed a lifesaving surgery on a month-old newborn baby to save him from a rare and complex congenital heart defect known as Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA).
The baby, who weighed 2.5 kgs, was on a critical condition before he was operated by a team of doctors led by Dr Dinesh Kumar Mittal, Director & Head, CTVS and Dr Gaurav Garg, Senior Consultant, Pediatric Cardiology at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.
In rare congenital heart defect (CHD) the left coronary artery, which carries blood to the heart muscle, begins from pulmonary artery instead of aorta. The blood vessel which supplies blood to the heart muscle is not attached at its normal position. Experts informed that such incidence is found only 1 in 3,00,000 babies.
Dr Dinesh Kumar Mittal said, “Surgeries on a newborn are complex as the organs are very small. The biggest challenge for us post-operation was that the baby’s heart function was very low (EF-20-25%). But the child responded well. These types of congenital heart disease are very challenging and require a dedicated team approach which includes specialists.”
