Fontan Conversion Cost in Chennai, India

The cost of Fontan conversion surgery in Chennai typically ranges from $1,550 to $5,750 USD (about ₹1.47 lakh to ₹5.45 lakh), depending on the hospital, room category and type of procedure.

A typical estimate for Fontan conversion surgery in Chennai is around $2,850 (about ₹2.70 lakh). What you pay depends mainly on your own case. If the repair is planned and your child needs only a short stay in intensive care, your bill is likely to be closer to $1,550 (about ₹1.47 lakh). It is likely to be nearer $5,750 (about ₹5.45 lakh) if the repair is more complex or done in stages, or your child needs a longer stay in intensive care.

When comparing Chennai packages for Fontan conversion surgery, check whether each quote includes:

• Surgeon and anaesthetist fees
• Operating theatre or procedure room
• Paediatric intensive care days
• Pre-operative scans and catheter studies
• Hospital stay and room category
• Medicines and consumables
• Follow-up visits before you fly home

Fontan conversion surgery changes an older type of Fontan connection into a newer one, generally an extracardiac conduit and frequently with rhythm surgery, for people who develop heart rhythm difficulties or other complications years after their first Fontan.

A single-centre Korean study of 21 people, published in PubMed Central, makes clear that older atriopulmonary Fontan connections can lead to a stretched right upper chamber, irregular heart rhythms and clots.

Most patients in the study had the older connection changed to an extracardiac conduit, a tube carrying blood from the lower body straight to the lungs, and some also had rhythm surgery or needed a pacemaker.

The study reported no deaths around the time of surgery, with survival of 92.3% at five years and 83.1% at ten years.

Irregular rhythm returned in 6 of 21 people and conversion did not seem to improve protein loss from the gut, and as a small study its results might not apply to every centre.

Fitness to fly: the UK Civil Aviation Authority's medical guidance suggests 10 to 14 days after heart or chest surgery before flying, so a stay of around three weeks in Chennai is realistic.

In Chennai, the price of Fontan conversion surgery is generally built from these parts:

• Pre-surgery assessment: echo, CT or cardiac MRI, and any catheter test.
• Theatre and perfusion: for operations that can last many hours.
• Paediatric cardiac ICU: normally the main source of variation.
• Patient: age and condition.
• Rhythm surgery: maze or ablation.
• Pacemaker: if needed.
• Intensive care: after surgery.

Children's heart surgery costs depend on the child's age and condition, the intensive care stay and any further operations, so complex cases in Chennai can cost more than the range above.

Children's heart surgery depends on a paediatric cardiac surgeon, a perfusion team and a paediatric cardiac intensive care unit working together, so check for all three in Chennai.

Hospitals in Chennai can hold NABH accreditation, India's national quality standard set by a board of the Quality Council of India and itself accredited by ISQua, and the NABH website shows whether an accreditation is still valid.

Joint Commission International (JCI) accredits a number of Indian hospitals, and its public directory lets you check whether a Chennai hospital on your shortlist is currently included.

Foreign patients can apply online for an Indian e-Medical visa, and family members who travel with them for an e-Medical Attendant visa; the official visa website lists the current conditions.