Six-year-old Aurangabad boy's ventricles and arteries were reversed and his heart also had a hole in it
Six-year-old Saket More from rural Aurangabad would often turn blue while playing with his friends. Carrying the school bag was an arduous task for him, and he always asked to be carried around. His concerned family consulted several doctors in Aurangabad, then Pune and eventually Mumbai, where Saket was diagnosed with Congenital Transposition of the Great Arteries, where ventricles (heart chambers) are reversed. He also had additional complications: the heart was found in the right side of his chest cavity, he had a hole in the heart, and the artery to his lungs was very narrow affecting blood supply.
"There are very few such cases globally. We had to refer case papers to understand the condition better. The boy's heart was on the right side, with abnormally coursing arteries, and the hole in his heart complicating the case further," said Dr Shivprakash Krishnanaik, Saket's operating surgeon.
The position of the heart, and ventricles within were corrected, the hole was repaired, and a cow valve was used to widen the narrow artery to the lungs, said Dr Krishnanank, Head, Paediatric Cardiac Sciences Department, HN Reliance Foundation Hospital.
The six-hour surgery took place on Friday. "The heart has an internal electric wiring that helps with the pumping. We had to conduct the surgery without disturbing it. A surgeon's skill is most crucial in such cases since one cannot see the wiring of the heart," explained Dr Shreepal Jain, senior paediatric cardiologist.
Twelve hours after the procedure, Saket was taken off the ventilator. Doctors said that he was stable, and had started walking around. Sanket now has a near normal heart and a shot at healthy life. Doctors said that about 40 per cent patients with such transposition of heart chambers and arteries, as in Sanket's case, could go through life without knowing about it. However, in most cases, it adversely their lifespan. Sanket was lucky to receive help on time, said doctors.
"Referral systems also play a big role in ensuring that such children reach tertiary care hospitals in time," said Dr Krishnanaik.
Saket was referred to Dr Pankaj Sugaonkar in Pune by MGM Hospital in Aurangabad, who later refered the case to doctors at HN Reliance Foundation.
For Sanket's parents, who are into farming, their son's recovery is nothing short of a miracle. "We were not sure if the surgery would be successful. He woke up and the first thing he asked for was khichdi," beams his mother Dwarka. Several NGOs raised funds for Saket's surgery.
Term Speak
Congenital Transposition of the Great Arteries is a rare congenital heart defect where the heart twists abnormally during fetal development and the ventricles are reversed
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