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Children Suffering From Critical Heart Conditions Successfully Operated At A Mumbai Hospital

The first procedure was performed on an 11-year-old boy and the second was on an eight-year-old girl.

Children Suffering From Critical Heart Conditions Successfully Operated At A Mumbai Hospital
SHARES

Fortis Hospital Mulund conducted two pediatric heart transplants within two months on children suffering from critical heart conditions. The first procedure was performed on an 11-year-old boy and the second was on an eight-year-old girl.

In April, the boy who was suffering from Dilated Cardiomyopathy underwent a heart transplant. Dilated cardiomyopathy is a debilitating condition and can drastically affect the quality of life. He had been waiting for a transplant for more than a year. Due to this condition, he could not enjoy his childhood as his left ventricle was highly dilated and showed no improvement in the ejection fraction. He received the heart from a patient in Ahmedabad, who was declared brain-dead.

The hospital recently performed another heart transplant on an eight-year-old girl. She suffered from a rare heart condition called Arrhythmogenic ventricular cardiomyopathy (AVC). Unlike in the boy’s case, the girl led a normal life and continued with her daily activities without realizing she had a heart condition. She did not complain of any heart-related discomfort until she got infected with COVID-19. Then an echocardiogram showed that both her ventricles (pumping chambers of the heart) were poorly functioning, while a gene test showed AVC.

A rare heart condition, AVC affects the heart muscles causing them to be replaced with fatty tissue. This causes abnormal heartbeats, heart failure and a risk of sudden death. People are born with AVC but the condition usually manifests in youth or adulthood. Nearly one in 30,000 children might get affected by this disorder.

The little girl was hospitalized thrice in the last six months, but her condition was not improving. Her family then contacted pediatric cardiac experts at Fortis Hospital Mulund for a heart transplant.

The surgery on the 8-year-girl was performed by Dr Dhananjay Malankar, Consultant-Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery while the surgery on the 11-year-old boy was performed by Dr Satish Javali, Consultant-CardioThoracic Surgery within a span of two months. The Hospital team included Dr Bharat Soni, Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon, Dr Swati Garekar, Consultant-Paediatric Cardiology, Dr Shivaji Mali, & Dr Shyam Dhake, Anaesthesiologists and Intensivists, Mr Hiten, & Mr Dinesh, Physician Assistants.

Talking about the girl's case, Dr Swati Garekar, Paediatric Cardiologist, said, "The girl's family reached us in time. Heart transplant is now rapidly becoming a practical option for children with end-stage heart failure in India. State-of-the-art medical infrastructure/ technology, a specialized and dedicated paediatric cardiac team, social support and parental preparedness is essential for the long-term success of a paediatric heart transplant. "

The eight-year-old girl’s transplant was possible after a 25-year-old patient was declared brain dead at a Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad due to an accident. The donor's family displayed enormous grit in their hour of grief and decided to donate the heart. The State Organ and Tissue 

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