7yr old boy with a challenging late-presenting major Heart defect tackled successfully by the pediatric cardiac team at Fortis Hospital Mulu

Mumbai: The paediatric cardiac team at Fortis Hospital Mulund sent home a 7-year-old boy with a significant heart defect and high lung artery pressure after successful surgery on him earlier this month. 

The boy from Nashik district was born with a severe heart defect. There was a mal-connection of the two main arteries that arose from his heart. Each artery was connected to the wrong chamber, and in addition, there was severe Pulmonary Hypertension. This condition is medically known as the Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) with Pulmonary Hypertension. 

The little boy was blue at birth which worsened and he became ‘bluer’ over the years. Walking a few steps without getting tired was a task for him. “My son has been suffering from heart sickness for the past six years. 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 distressed mother of the boy, recalling the past.

When the parents heard about the Paediatric Cardiac camp organised by Fortis Hospital Mulund and Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) in August 2021, near their home, they decided to find out if the team could still help their son. The RBSK officials were instrumental in identifying and gathering children with suspected or proven Heart defects in the Nashik-Malegaon region.

The mother further added, “At the Malegaon check-up camp, we met the doctors. They told us that  ideally, the surgical procedure should’ve happened in the first two weeks of his life. 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”.

He underwent the Arterial switch operation without any issue at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, Mumbai. The recovery in the ICU was smooth. On the 7th post-operative day, he walked out of the hospital with his parents. The mother saw her son take confident steps forward without feeling tired for the first time! His small nails that used to be inky Blue were now Pink. The family was immensely grateful to the team of doctors and nurses. 

Dr Swati Garekar, Consultant-Paediatric Cardiology, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, shared, “This was not a tough call to take. There was no way we would have left a 7-year-old little boy suffering. We had to help him in one way or another. I am glad that he came out of the surgery with flying colours. I expect and believe he will have a good quality of life”.

Dr Dhananjay Malankar, Consultant-Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, who operated on the child, said, “His 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. I wish him good health in the long term. I want to appeal to all parents of children with complex heart defects, don’t be scared. Do approach us we can help. The RBSK network is very strong, and we applaud their efforts to locate such suffering families and help them.”