S’wak baby successfully brought to Serdang for operation during MCO
KUCHING: Health directorgeneral Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has commended medical teams in Kuching and Serdang for the successful operation on a baby girl from Sarawak in spite of the challenges posed by Covid-19.
The five-month-old baby, who had an inlet ventricular septal defect (VSD) and was ventilated at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH), was successfully transferred to Serdang Hospital via commercial flight in May.
“She was accompanied by a medical officer and her mother and despite her tender age and stormy preoperative period, she successfully underwent VSD closure on June 4,” he said in a Facebook post yesterday.
He congratulated all the teams involved including the SGH team, Serdang Hospital paediatric cardiology team, paediatric cardiac intensive care unit team, cardiothoracic team, and cardiac anaesthesia team.
Noor Hisham also thanked all those behind the scenes who worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the operation.
“During this unprecedented time with the Movement Control Order (MCO), transferring a critically-ill patient across the South China Sea is seemingly an uphill task,” Dr Noor Hisham pointed out.
Limited flights, compulsory quarantine for the accompanying staff, and securing an approval for transfer were some of the challenges that needed to be overcome by those involved in the procedure.
“Thank you for the support and trust rendered to the team to help the baby become healthy, and putting a smile back on the faces of both mother and child,” he said.
A VSD, also known as a hole in the heart, is a common heart defect that is present at birth.
VSDs are the most common congenital heart defects, and in most cases they’re diagnosed and treated successfully with few or no complications.