Successful Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery Saves Life of 4-Year-Old Zambian Boy

by Suman Gupta

Mumbai: A team headed by Dr. Chandrashekhar Kulkarni, Consultant CVTS, Global Hospital, Mumbai, successfully treated a 4-year-old Zambian boy with a hole in the heart. The patient suffered from Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), also known as a ‘hole in the heart’ which is a birth defect. He can breathe freely after surgery and can do his chores with ease after undergoing minimally invasive cardiac surgery.

Mohamed Ahmed Ali was born in Zambia on 13^th June 2013. Slowly, his parents noticed that their baby was having breathing problems while running or walking. The baby was prone to infections and would fall sick very easily. He couldn’t keep up with the peers of his age and would require constant assistance from his parents. The baby’s health kept deteriorating, and he was constantly fatigued. When he was 4, his worried parents consulted a few medicos who confirmed that the baby suffered from Atrial Septal Defect (ASD). Eventually, the patient was referred to Global Hospital wherein he got a fresh lease of life.

Dr. Chandrashekhar Kulkarni, Consultant CVTS, Global Hospital, Parel, said, “On arrival to the hospital, a 2D ECHO of heart was again performed to reconfirm the diagnosis. He had a large Atrial Septal Defect and the only treatment option was surgery. We decided to go ahead with Minimal Invasive Cardiac Surgery route to minimize pain and also have a better recovery.”

The patient and his family were counseled and prepared for the surgery. On 12^th October 2019, he underwent minimally invasive cardiac surgery (also known as keyhole surgery), a beneficial technique in tackling heart conditions.

“This surgery is performed through making a small keyhole-sized incision on the right side of the chest instead of the larger incisions carried out in the conventional open-heart surgery. The defect was closed without cutting the breast bone as he was operated between the ribs, which resulted in less pain and a quicker recovery. This procedure also requires temporarily stopping of the heart and diverting blood flow from the heart using a heart-lung bypass machine. The benefits of this surgery are less blood loss, low risk of infection, reduced trauma and pain, less noticeable scars, and shorter hospital stay. The surgery lasted for two-and-half hours and the patient was discharged on the 3^rd day after surgery. Now, the boy can breathe properly and doesn’t feel tired all the time,” highlighted Dr. Kulkarni.

Ahmed Ali, the patient’s father said, “After Irfan’s birth, we noticed that he was not as active as the kids of his age. Where other kids would play, he would avoid doing so as he would find it difficult to breathe while playing. Moreover, he was also down with fever. We thank the doctors from the hospital who saved his life with the help of their expertise, cutting edge technology and round-the-clock services.”

“The cardiology team consisting of Paediatric Interventional Cardiologist and the Cardio-Thoracic Surgeons are skilled to tackle highly complicated congenital anomalies. In this particular case, we avoided the conventional open-heart surgery and could successfully treat the child with Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery leading to less post-operative pain and faster recovery. The doctors, nurses and paramedical staff at Global Hospital are well-trained to handle pediatric patients”, said Dr. Vivek Talaulikar, CEO – Global Hospital, Mumbai.