Mishra kid will lead a normal life, say doctors

The Mishras’ four-day-old baby sleeps in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of the Wockhardt Paediatric & Congenital Heart Center at Mulund, oblivious to the flutter that his surgery has created among surgeons.

The baby, who was diagnosed with a complete congenital cardiac blockage, underwent a rare heart surgery where a miniature pacemaker was implanted in his heart on Tuesday morning when he was just 15-hours-old, making him the youngest baby to have a pacemaker implant in the country.

“The baby is recovering well, but he will have to be monitored for a week,” said Dr Suresh Joshi, consultant paediatric cardiac surgeon at the hospital.

He will have to be brought to the hospital regularly for follow-ups. “He will be able to lead a normal life like any other child.”

With his 32-year-old wife Sangeeta recuperating at Dr Jyoti Bobe Nursing Home in Airoli, Mishra has been shuttling between the two hospitals for the past few days. “We haven’t had time to even think of a name for our baby,” said Mishra.

Paediatric cardiac surgeons from across the country lauded the team that performed the rare surgery. “We have had similar surgeries on infants, but 15 hours after birth is remarkable,” said Rajesh Sharma, paediatric cardiac surgeon at Fortis Hospital in New Delhi.

“Such surgeries will create awareness about options available to other parents who might find themselves  in a similar situation,” said Smruti Ranjan Mohanty, paediatric cardiac specialist at Rabindranath Tagore Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Kolkata.