"This defect is extremely rare and seen in one in 3 lakh deliveries. Due to improper supply of oxygenated blood to the rest of the body, the child suffered from breathlessness, poor appetite and slow development,"said Jain.
When four-month-old Aditi of Solapur was brought to Sir HN Reliance Hospital, she was breathing fast, feeding poorly, and crying incessantly. Doctors said she had had at least 20 heart attacks because of a rare congenital heart condition called Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from Pulmonary Artery (ALCAPA).
"We did an echocardiography and found that she had an abnormal artery origin which was turning away a majority of the blood supply from the heart," said Dr Shreepal Jain, paediatric cardiologist, under who she was admitted. He added that the defect, which is medically called ALCAPA, was leading to the baby suffering repeated heart attacks.
"This defect is extremely rare and seen in one in 3 lakh deliveries. Due to improper supply of oxygenated blood to the rest of the body, the child suffered from breathlessness, poor appetite and slow development,"said Jain.
He further explained that in the case of a normal baby, pressure in the lungs normalises seven days after birth, but in Aditi's case, the lesion diverted the pink (pure) blood, thereby severely reducing supply of pure blood to the heart.
"It resulted in the so-called 'frequent and silent heart attacks' that damaged the heart muscles. Such children usually die of heart failure before their first birthday," said Jain.
Dr Shivaprakash, chief surgeon and head of paediatric heart centre at the hospital, led the surgical team that operated on Aditi. The other members were Dr Gananjay Salve, Dr Sandeep Katkade, Dr Vilson, and Subhaash Sawant.
The surgery, performed on February 21, lasted nine hours. "The artery was disconnected from its abnormal origin and reimplanted at its right place in the aorta. The area from where it was harvested was reconstructed with a patch of the tissue covering the baby's heart," said Shivaprakash.
For the reconstructed heart to function properly, it was supported for 30 minutes post-surgery. The doctors converted the bypass circulation to left heart bypass for these 30 minutes, before the heart gradually took over the full load of circulation.
According to the doctors, Aditi's condition stabilised after five days and she is likely to be discharged in the next few days.
Her mother Preeti said, "We went to seven doctors and four hospitals before reaching here. She is our first daughter and we wanted to do everything to save her life." The young parents had to borrow money to fund their daughter's heart surgery.
"She once cried for about three hours continuously, that is when we took her to the doctor who suspected her of having a heart condition," said Preeti.
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