2-day-old put through complex heart surgery, lives to tell tale
Doctors of Narayana Multispeciality Hospital, Jaipur, successfully diagnosed and treated a two-day-old baby with Coarctation of Aorta (CoA). CoA is a critical cardiac defect in which a portion of the aorta (main blood vessel supplying oxygen rich blood to the body) is very narrow and blocks blood flow to the lower half of the body.
Dr. CP Srivastava, head of the department and chief consultant cardiac surgery, said that in this case, the aorta was severely constricted, requiring immediate corrective surgery otherwise the baby would not have survived.
He said that the congenital anomaly came to light when the newborn’s mother underwent a routine foetal echo during her pregnancy. Results of the echo suspected CoA in the foetus. Being a high-risk pregnancy, the parents, who were from Tonk district, were counselled to plan delivery of the baby at a tertiary centre having a full-fledged cardiac program as well as having capability to manage high risk pregnancy.
The parents-to-be came to Narayana Multispeciality Hospital, where under the close monitoring of Dr. Richa Choudhary, Consultant – Obstetrics & Gynaecology and active support by a team of multi-disciplinary experts, the delivery was successful.
Dr Srivastava said the newborn girl weighing 2.7 kg was
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kept under close observation in the hospital’s Neonatal ICU, and an echocardiography was done within 24 hours of birth to check all vitals. The echocardiography diagnosed and confirmed COA with associated Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). The narrowing of the Aorta was blocking blood flow to the lower half of the body resulting in deficient blood supply to vital organs such as liver, kidneys etc.
Explaining further, Srivastava said that at birth, the lower half of the body also gets blood through an additional source known as ductus arteriosus, which naturally closes within a few minutes after birth. Under the guidance of Dr. Prashant Mahawar, consultant – paediatric cardiology, special drugs were administered which helped keep the ductus arteriosus open to maintain the blood supply. Within 48 hours post-delivery, a team of doctors, headed by Dr. Srivastava operated upon the newborn. The narrowed portion of the aorta was surgically removed and the aorta was re-constructed to allow blood to flow normally through it.
Incidentally, the mother had undergone corrective heart surgery for Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) 14 years back by Dr Srivastava, when he was in government’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur.
He said, “Operating newborns with congenital heart defects is challenging as the size of a baby’s heart is very small and there are risks involved like internal bleeding during or post-surgery, breathing problems among others. Post-operative management of a newborn is also very critical since all the organs, especially lungs, are in the initial developing stage and require skilled doctors for management.”