Infant doing well after complicated cardiac op at BHU

Varanasi: Doctors of the Institute of Medical Sciences performed a PDA (patent ductus arteriosus) device closure using transcatheter method in a baby weighing 5 kg. The doctors claimed the case was a significant achievement for cardiology department at IMS BHU, as this was the youngest child to undergo such an intervention here. The patient was discharged and is currently doing well.

The team of doctors included Prof Vikas Agrawal, Dr Pratibha Rai, Dr Manish, Dr Arjun from the Cardiology department, and Prof A P Singh, Dr Sanjeev, and Dr Pratima from Cardiac Anaesthesia.

Dr Pratibha Rai explained that the PDA is a structure that connects two major arteries in the body and is critical for fetal survival. However, if it does not close on its own after birth, it can lead to poor weight gain, heart failure and repeated episodes of pneumonia. In this case, the baby was six and half months old but not gaining weight.

All large PDAs should ideally be closed by 3 months of age, moderate-sized PDAs by 6 to 12 months, and small ones by 12 to 18 months.

She said PDA closure is performed using a catheter-based method as it avoids the need for open-heart surgery. Although the treatment is challenging in small babies, it carries lower risk of complications compared to open-heart surgery.

Prof Siddhartha Lakhotia from the cardio thoracic and vascular surgery department said while open-heart surgery was an option, its high mortality rate in babies often made transcatheter PDA device closure a more favourable choice.

Head of the department, Prof Vikas Agrawal, said in addition to angioplasties, pacemaker implantation and valve procedures, both paediatric and adult congenital cardiac interventions from newborns to adults are performed routinely in cardiology department at IMS BHU.