Glenn procedure Cost in Chennai, India

The cost of the Glenn procedure 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 the Glenn procedure 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 the Glenn procedure, 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

The Glenn procedure (bidirectional cavopulmonary connection) joins the vein from the upper body directly to the lung arteries, generally as the second planned operation for children with one working pumping chamber.

The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne makes clear that the Glenn connects the veins draining the upper body directly to the lung arteries, so blood from the head and arms reaches the lungs without passing through the heart.

It is generally carried out at about three months of age after an MRI scan, and any earlier shunt is generally taken down during the operation.

Children generally stay a little blue after the Glenn, because blood from the lower body still returns to the heart without passing through the lungs.

The Fontan operation generally follows later, frequently at about four to five years, to complete the plan.

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 the Glenn procedure 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.
• Child: generally approximately three months old.
• MRI or catheter: prior to surgery.
• Heart-lung machine: during surgery.
• 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.

Chennai was called Madras until the Tamil Nadu government changed the name in 1996, so older documents and some hospital paperwork may still use the earlier name.