Doctors At Bhubaneswar’s SUM Turn Around Newborn With Congenital Heart Defect

Bhubaneswar: A month-old boy, who was critically sick due to a congenital heart defect, has got a fresh lease of life thanks to a team of doctors at Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, the faculty of medicine of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA).

When the baby’s father Ramakanta Bhoi of Puri district’s Nimapara brought the newborn to the hospital on January 2, the baby had breathing difficulty. He was immediately rushed to the ICU and put on mechanical ventilation and advanced life support system.

Echocardiography revealed that the baby was suffering from Coarctation of aorta, which was subsequently confirmed by the paediatric cardiology team, headed by Dr Anuspandana Mahapatra.

Doctors in neonatal and cardiology teams decided to shift the baby to the cathlab and balloon angioplasty was performed through a catheter inserted into a large blood vessel in the groin.

The procedure, conducted by Dr Kumar Gaurav Behera, was successful and the baby improved clinically following which ventilator support was withdrawn.

The baby started to accept oral feeds and direct breast feeding.

Aortic coarctation is the narrowing of the aorta which forces the heart to pump harder to move blood through aorta. The condition, present at birth with mild to severe symptoms, can turn fatal if not treated immediately.

The neonatal team comprised Dr Ratan Das, Dr Debasish Nanda, Dr Bhabagrahi Mallick, Dr Bineet Panigrahi, Dr Payal Pradhan, Dr Kalpita, Dr Shiolpa, Dr Vijay Tej Kola and Dr Debiprasad Sahoo, along with staff nurses, technicians and residents who took clinical care of the baby.