Repairing a fragile heart valve: Newborn undergoes life-saving surgery 6 hours after birth at Delhi's Ganga Ram Hospital

The baby girl, Advika had nearly 80% blockage in the pulmonary valve, compelling her to undergo a valve repair within hours of her birth.

Image for representational purpose only

New Delhi: A newborn baby underwent a complex pediatric cardiac surgery within six hours of birth at a reputed city hospital in the national capital, which her doctors said any delay in the procedure could cost her life.

As per a report in Times of India, the baby girl, Advika had nearly 80% blockage in the pulmonary valve, compelling her to undergo a valve repair few hours after she was born.

Dr Neeraj Aggarwal, consultant, paediatric cardiology at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH), where the surgery was conducted, told TOI that Advika's condition was diagnosed through fetal echocardiography in the fifth month of pregnancy which gave the family time to decide on delivery and approaching the right centre for valve repair.

“Usually, valve repair is done via the groin but in this case we needed the neck vessels to do the procedure also referred to as balloon valvuloplasty. It involves inserting a thin tube with a balloon at its tip through a blood vessel to the faulty valve in the heart. The balloon is inflated to help clear the blockage," Dr Aggarwal added.

While valve repairs usually occur in grown-up children, SGRH doctors said it is a challenge operating on infants to carry out th procedure as their organs and tissues are very fragile.

Congenital heart disease means a heart condition or defect that develops in the womb, before a baby is born.

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common type of birth defect, involving the walls of the heart, the valves of the heart, and the arteries and veins near the heart.

However, CHDs can be improved by early intervention and foetal echocardiography is an important tool for the same as Dr Aggarwal noted.

The cause of a congenital heart defect is often unknown, but certain cases may be as a result of infections during pregnancy such as rubella, use of certain medications or drugs such as alcohol or tobacco. Having a parent with a with congenital heart defect also increases the baby's risk.