Fontan Conversion Cost in Gurgaon, India

The cost of Fontan conversion surgery in Gurgaon typically ranges from $1,900 to $7,000 USD (about ₹1.80 lakh to ₹6.64 lakh), depending on the hospital, room category and type of procedure.

A typical estimate for Fontan conversion surgery in Gurgaon is around $3,500 (about ₹3.32 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 $1,900 (about ₹1.80 lakh). It is likely to be nearer $7,000 (about ₹6.64 lakh) if the repair is more complex or done in stages, or your child needs a longer stay in intensive care.

When comparing Gurgaon 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, normally an extracardiac conduit and commonly with rhythm surgery, for people who develop heart rhythm issues or other complications years after their first Fontan.

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

The majority of people 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 required 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 may not apply to every centre.

Flying home: UK Civil Aviation Authority medical guidance puts the usual wait after heart or chest surgery at 10 to 14 days, so expect to spend around three weeks in Gurgaon in total.

A Gurgaon quote for Fontan conversion surgery is normally made up of these items:

• Tests before the operation: echocardiogram, CT or cardiac MRI and any catheter study.
• Theatre time and perfusion: children's heart operations can run for many hours.
• Paediatric cardiac intensive care: normally the largest variable.
• Patient: age and condition.
• Rhythm surgery: maze or ablation.
• Pacemaker: if required.
• 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 Gurgaon can cost more than the range above.

Children's heart surgery needs a paediatric cardiac surgeon, a perfusion team and a paediatric cardiac intensive care unit together, so confirm all three when shortlisting hospitals in Gurgaon.

NABH, the hospital accreditation board of the Quality Council of India whose standards carry ISQua accreditation, sets the national benchmark for hospitals, and its online directory shows whether a Gurgaon hospital's accreditation is still current.

Gurgaon is part of Delhi NCR, where India's first hospital to gain Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation did so in 2005, and JCI publishes a searchable list of the organisations it currently accredits.

International patients apply online for India's e-Medical visa, and up to two family members can usually travel on e-Medical Attendant visas; confirm the current rules on the official Indian visa portal.