A 3-year-old Russian child underwent an artificial heart implant procedure at MGM Hospital, Chennai. The ventricular assistive device would help him live a near-normal life until he can receive a heart transplant.
Dr. K.R. Balakrishnan, chairman and director of Cardiac Sciences at MGM hospital, said it was a challenging procedure for the medical team and is first of its kind in West Asia, South East Asia and Africa.
“Parents of a child consulted us almost a year ago. Unfortunately, two months ago he suffered two cardiac arrests and we had to revive him by cardiac massage for almost 7-8 minutes,” he said. Therefore, it was decided to implant a pediatric biventricular pump.
At the time of the surgery, the child weighed only 10 KGs, making the procedure more complex. This 7 hours procedure was performed by Dr. Suresh Rao K.G., Dr. V. Srinath, Dr. S. Ganapathy and was led by Dr. Balakrishnan.
The team had to maintain the required protective equipment due to COVID-19. Due to ongoing travel restrictions, the doctors had to rely on teleconference support from expert teams from Germany and the UK.
“Berlin Heart will support the circulation till the heart recovers or he gets a transplant. The child had been shifted out of the ICU and is fit to be discharged,” says Dr. Balakrishnan.
Send Enquiry