Manipal: An 11-day-old baby was successfully operated by a team of Kasturba Hospital doctors led by Dr. Aravind Bishnoi, CTVS Surgeon here recently, to correct an abnormality identified as Transposition of Great Arteries (TGA) – a serious defect in the heart. The baby is recovering well and the parents are extremely happy with the operation and care given at the hospital.
The baby, Sharan (name changed) was delivered in a hospital in Udupi and the parents observed that the child had difficulty in breathing and also had a rapid heart rate and cool and moist skin. The doctors then referred the child for further treatment.
The baby was just one day old when he was brought for treatment to Dr. Leslie Lewis, a Neonatologist at the Neonatal ICU at Kasturba Hospital. After a diagnosis it found that the child had TGA by Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Padmakumar. TGA is a condition which occurs due to abnormal development of the fetal heart during the first eight weeks of pregnancy. The large vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lungs, and to the rest of the body are connected in a “swapped” manner. The oxygen saturation was less and this was well taken care of at the sophisticated Neonatal ICU.
Baby Sharan was then referred to Cardio Vascular Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Aravind Bishnoi, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon & Associate Professor, Dept. of Cardio Vascular and Thoracic Surgery, along with a team of doctors, performed the surgery to correct the defect. “The infants who undergo delicate TGA surgical repair including the arterial switch surgery will grow and develop normally,” said Dr. Bishnoi. Post-surgery, Neonatologists under the guidance of Dr. Leslie Lewis provided recovery care and the child has recovered well in a short period of time.
Dr. Avinash Shetty, Medical Superintendent, Kasturba Hospital, Manipal said, “The occurrence of Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) is very rare. To perform the surgical intervention on a newborn baby, a high level of skillset and precision is essential. Kasturba Hospital now has the services of trained paediatric Cardio Thoracic Surgeon Dr. Arvind Bishnoi to attend to these cases. Further, in such cases pre-operative and post-operative care including the Neonatal ICU plays a very significant role in the recovery of the baby.”
Normally, oxygen-poor (blue) blood returns to the right atrium from the body, travels to the right ventricle, then is pumped through the pulmonary artery into the lungs where it receives oxygen. Oxygen-rich (red) blood returns to the left atrium from the lungs, passes into the left ventricle, and then is pumped through the aorta out to the body. In transposition of the great arteries, the aorta is connected to the right ventricle, and the pulmonary artery is connected to the left ventricle — the opposite of a normal heart’s anatomy.
Fetal cardiac echocardiography is the only way to detect this at the early stages.
Earlier these type of cases were referred to Bengaluru for surgical intervention. But, there was no guarantee that the baby will survive the travel to Bengaluru. Further, for transportation arrangements, a doctor, nursing staff and an equipped ambulance were necessary and the expenses would come up to Rs 60,000.
According to the medical experts, such babies would not survive beyond a month and surgery is the only way for survival.
