Neonate undergoes complex heart surgery within 30 hours of birth at KIMS Cuddles

Visakhapatnam, 7th April 2023:  For the first time in the history of Vishakapatnam, a neonate underwent a successful complex cardiac surgery, that too within just 30 hours of birth.  KIMS-Cuddles Hospital by a team led by Dr. Anil Kumar Dharmapuram, Chief Pediatric Cardiac surgeon achieved this rare feat.  Dr. Anil Kumar explained the details thereof.

"This neonate was born to a young couple with a congenital complex cardiac condition called Obstructed Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection (TAPVC). Because of the problem, the baby developed breathing difficulty immediately after birth. So, the baby is shifted to acute medical care in the Cuddles neonatal unit (NICU). The neonatal team headed by Dr. Nikhil Tenneti promptly suspected a cardiac problem in the baby. A detailed cardiac evaluation was done by Pediatric Cardiologist, Dr. Shantipriya and the baby was diagnosed to have TAPVC that is obstructed. In this condition, the pulmonary veins from the lungs that take the pure blood to the heart drained to the right side of the heart instead of the left side. At the point where the veins joined the right side, there was an acute block obstructing blood flow from the lungs to the heart. This led to increased pressure in the lungs, which is called pulmonary hypertension. Because of this, the baby could not breathe normally and had to be put on a ventilator before undergoing the surgery.

The cardiac problem with the baby was an emergency, and the baby had to be taken for urgent and major cardiac surgery.  The baby was operated on for intracardiac repair of the TAPVC as soon as the diagnosis was confirmed. In this surgery, which lasted 8 hours, the pulmonary veins that drained to the right side of the heart, have to be diverted and re-routed to the left side of the heart which is the normal one. It is technically a big challenge for a surgeon to perform such a major surgery on a  neonate, within 30 hours of life for whom the tissues of the heart are very fragile and tender. The anesthesia and intensive care also was equally challenging. After the surgery, the baby made a remarkable improvement in the neonatal unit after a couple of days of stabilization. The baby started feeding normally and was discharged in good condition and was followed up by a team of doctors. At follow-up after one-month post-discharge, the child is gaining weight and spreading joy" explained Dr. Anil Kumar Dharmapuram.

The parents thanked the management of KIMS Cuddles Hospital, the team of doctors, nurses, and other staff for saving the life of their newborn child.