Click to play videoNew Delhi: Cardiologists at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences have successfully operated upon an 10-day-old baby suffering from a rare congenital heart defect. Experts say this could well be the first infant in India to have survived this condition.
The son of a labourer in Bihar, the baby was suffering from a rare birth defect called 'ectopia cordis' in which the heart is formed outside the body. It appears in about eight births among a million live births.
The treating doctor at AIIMS, Dr Biswoi said, "Most of them, they are still born or they die immediately after birth. Average life without any procedure is hardly 36 hours."
The baby underwent numerous tests and blood transfusions to bring down infection levels in his body. This was crucial since his father had brought him all the way from Bihar in a train wrapped in a towel.
Chander Manjhi, the baby's father said that reaching New Delhi was an arduous journey.
The surgery involved creating a space inside the baby's chest cavity to put the heart back. It was a beating heart procedure in which no heart-lung machine was used. The entire surgery was completed in a three and a half hour span, making him perhaps the first Indian infant to survive this condition.
Dr Biswoi said, "The Supreme power what is called nature that makes the man has given a defect. When you dare to correct it, you are daring to correct the defect of the mother nature. That itself is quite adventurous."
The baby is currently being monitored as the next few days are very crucial.
(With inputs from Sara Sidner, CNN)
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
 |
 |
 |
|
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.