Nayati Multi Super Specialty Hospital has recently preformed a successful paediatric cardiac surgery on a 6-year-old boy and a 8-year-old girl. 'Blue Baby Syndrome' and Dextrocardia Situs inversus with multiple holes in the heart with severe pulmonary hypertension respectively.

This is the first time that such complex surgeries have been performed in the region. The first case of a six-year-old child from Mathura who was brought to Nayati with a rare disorder leading to bluish discoloration of hands, feet and oral region. The patient was brought to Nayati with severe cyanosis, very high haemoglobin levels with frequent episodes of cyanotic spells (increase in bluish discoloration with saturation of 70 per cent). Patient was earnestly taken up for intracardiac repair and was operated on April 6, 2016. Bluish discoloration improved immediately after the surgery and was removed from the ventilator support within few hours after surgery.

The team of cardiac surgeons led by Dr. Venugopal Ram Rao operated on the eight years old girl from Agra. The girl was diagnosed to have extremely rare and complex cardiac birth defect in which the position of organs is reversely arranged in a mirror image manner - heart is found on the right side of chest instead of left side, liver is on the left side and spleen on the right side. Usually patients with dextrocardia and situs inversus lead normal life. But they do have many cardiac and abdominal defects like multiple holes (VSD- ventricular septal defects) which was found this patient. This patient had multiple holes, an abnormal communication called PDA, another abnormal connection called Right SVC, with severe pulmonary hypertension. The pressure in pulmonary artery is 1/3 of BP, however in this patient it was almost same. If left without intervention for few days, it would have been inoperable.

Dr. Venugopal Ram Rao, chairman of Nayati Centre for Cardiac Sciences states, “Both these disorders are exceptional and multifaceted. Blue Baby Syndrome is a rare disorder which manifests as soon as the child is born or within the first few days of life. It is actually not one single disease but a group of diseases where baby is blue and is born with a defect in the heart. Similarly, Dextrocardia Situs inversus with multiple holes (VSD) in the heart is a very rare condition affecting 1 in 10,000. With great risk, both holes of the 8-year-old were closed, abnormal communications closed & the patient is recuperating well in ICU.”

“Only a handful of centres offer such facilities in Northern India and through successful initiation of paediatric cardiac surgical work, the Nayati Centre for Cardiac Sciences has joined this brigade. Prompt diagnosis and instant treatment are very crucial for the successful management of such cases. Now patients do not have to travel to Delhi NCR for such complicated disorders. The Nayati Cardiac Sciences Centre is capable of operating paediatric to geriatric age group of patients,” said Dr Rao.