Lifesaving Surgery performed to treat rare ALCAPA syndrome on month-old baby at Fortis Shalimar Bagh

27 Jan, 2020

A team of doctors at Fortis Hospital Shalimar Baghperformed a lifesaving surgery on a month-old newborn baby to save him from a rare and complex congenital heart defect known as Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) here recently.

The baby, who weighed 2.5 kgs, was on a critical condition before he was operated by a team of doctors led by Dr Dinesh Kumar Mittal, Director & Head, CTVS and Dr Gaurav Garg, Senior Consultant, Pediatric Cardiology at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.

This rare congenital heart defect (CHD), also known as Bland White Garland syndrome, is characterized when left coronary artery, which carries blood to the heart muscle, begins from pulmonary artery instead of aorta. The blood vessel which supplies blood to the heart muscle is not attached at its normal position. The condition remained undetected until it was presented to the doctors at Fortis Shalimar Bagh.

After tests and closed evaluation, doctors concluded that the distressed baby was suffering from this rare condition. A detailed plan was drawn following close monitoring of the baby at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for a careful surgical intervention. The incidence of this condition is only 1 in 3,00,000 babies.

The blood vessel which supplies blood to the heart muscle is not attached at its normal position. The condition remained undetected until it was presented to the doctors at Fortis Shalimar Bagh.

After tests and closed evaluation, doctors concluded that the distressed baby was suffering from this rare condition. A detailed plan was drawn following close monitoring of the baby at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for a careful surgical intervention. The incidence of this condition is only 1 in 3,00,000 babies.

The complex procedure on a newborn involved putting the baby on cardio pulmonary bypass machine, division of the Pulmonary Artery, harvesting of the left coronary which was then implanted into the ascending Aorta.

The baby’s heart responded well to this line of treatment. The fighter baby was out of the ventilator within a day of the operation. With post-operative care at the hospital, the baby soon was healthy enough to be discharged from the hospital.

Speaking about the case, Dr Dinesh Kumar Mittal said that Surgeries on a newborn are complex as the organs are very small.

The biggest challenge for us post-operation was that the baby’s heart function was very low (EF-20-25%).

But the child responded well. He was weaned out of the ventilator on the second post-op day and was discharged on the 8th post-op day. Before discharge, his Echo showed improved heart function (EF-40%).

These types of congenital heart disease are very challenging and require a dedicated team approach which includes specialists such as a Pediatric Cardiac surgeon, Pediatric Cardiologist, Pediatric Cardiac Intensivist and Anesthetist.

Source: https://news24x365.com/archives/7888