Paediatricians saved the life of a seven-year-old boy from Nashik who was born with a significant heart defect due to which there was mal-connection of the two main arteries that arose from his heart. Each artery was connected to the wrong chamber, and in addition, he had severe pulmonary hypertension. This condition is medically known as the Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) with pulmonary hypertension. Doctors said it was a tough surgery as they conducted an ‘Arterial Switch operation’ which helped them to save his life.
The skin colour of the boy was ‘blue’ at birth which worsened and he became darker over the years and was also facing difficulties in playing outdoor games. “We tried getting him treated, but lack of financial support and confidence caused a hindrance. Our relatives and acquaintances kept reminding us that the operation was too risky and we might lose our son,” said Sunanda Boye, the boy's mother.
The parents then came across the paediatric cardiac camp organised by Fortis Hospital Mulund and Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) and decided to find out if the team could still help their son.
“At the Malegaon check-up camp, we met the doctors. After a check-up, his heart looked like it could still take the surgery and get well. The doctors explained the procedure and complications in detail, after which we finally decided to go ahead with the operation,” said his mother.
Consultant-Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, Fortis Hospital, Dr Dhananjay Malankar who operated on the child said, the patient heart had an atypical high-risk coronary artery course that made the surgery challenging and complicated, but we managed to pull through it. “We were, however, concerned about his pulmonary hypertension and how his heart would adapt to the new, corrected circulation. To our delight, he recovered fairly well in the ICU and the pressure in his lung arteries also came down with medications,” he said.
