9 year old with congenital heart disease undergoes open heart surgery

•  Child was underweight and had been complaining of  difficulty in breathing, palpitations and fatigue since early childhood
• On admission she was also diagnosed with abnormal connection of right coronaries

New Delhi, September 12, 2022:

In a case of chronic disease, 9 years old female child suffering from congenital heart defect was successfully operated at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals in New Delhi. Since infancy, child’s growth had been slow and she had been suffering from recurrent chest infection and palpitations. On consultation at a local hospital she was diagnosed with a hole in heart that was leading to flow of blood into the lungs through arteries and advised immediate high risk surgery.

On 19^th July she was admitted to Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals with acute breathlessness and palpitations. Under the supervision of Dr Manisha Chakrabarti, Senior Consultant, Pediatric Cardiology, evaluation and echo was done, where the child was diagnosed with an abnormal communication between two great arteries of the heart causing load on the lung pressure and the left heart. Also she had abnormal origin of right coronary artery from lung artery and a branch of great artery was arising from the lung artery adding to the complexity. She was immediately advised to undergo an angiography followed by open heart surgery since any delay would have been life threatening.

Speaking on the same, Dr Manisha Chakrabarti, Senior Consultant, Pediatric Cardiology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi said, “Early diagnosis is the key in management of many diseases. Delayed diagnosis can aggravate the symptoms and cause additional complications. Same was the case with this 9 year old child who didn’t get proper diagnosis in early age until her complications started impacting the daily routine. On admission to Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals the child was critical, breathing heavily and had unstable vitals. In her case there was a connection developed between arteries leading to more blood flow in lungs.

This increased blood flow was causing recurrent chest infection and breathlessness in walking. Also, she was diagnosed with abnormal coronary artery origin. Her surgery was critical and was performed by Dr Rajesh Sharma, Senior Consultant, Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi. Her post-operative period was uneventful, she was discharged on 27^th, July, 2022. During follow-up after one and half month, patient is keeping well, has gained some weight and is ready to follow her daily routine.”

There can be multiple factors responsible for the occurrence of congenital heart diseases, like chemical exposure, genetic syndrome and infections during pregnancy, unmonitored use of medicines by the mother. Also, any symptoms for any disease, even failure to gain weight and frequent chest infections should not be neglected and proper medical care by pediatricians should be taken on time. Congenital heart disease accounts for around 0.8% of all live births and 10% of infant mortality is responsible for congenital heart diseases.

Infant mortality rate is considered as the most important parameter to decide health status of a country. The disease has very good future and children have normal life if operated on time. The mortality rate of surgery is not more than 1% in a good cardiac centre when performed on time. Financial help can be opted from other sources but any defects can only be closed by medicines.

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