Anand Sah, the six-month-old baby, who was operated upon for a rare heart disease in Patna. Telegraph picture

A six-month-old underweight baby was successfully operated upon for a rare, complex heart disease at a private hospital in the capital on May 14. A team of seven veteran cardiologists treated the infant, who suffered from a complicated congenital heart ailment with a single pumping chamber in the heart.

Dr Ajit Pradhan, the chief cardiac surgeon at Jeevak Heart Hospital, said the operation was a challenge as the baby weighed only 4kg. “The surgery was challenging and was done on a heart-lung machine. It was the first stage of fontan operation. The baby, named Anand Sah, is fine now and will need the final stage correction after three years,” said Pradhan.

“Normally, there are four chambers in the heart, two atria (upper chamber) and two ventricles (lower chambers). The patient had only one ventricle as a result of which the entire pure and impure blood used to get mixed in the lower chamber and was pumped out to the whole body. The surgery was urgent, as the blood flowing to the lungs was impure and the baby skin had turned blue,” he also said.

The first stage of operation involved diverting the venous blood from the right atrium to the arteries in the lungs without passing through the ventricle. It cost the baby’s parents — Santosh Shah and Putul Gupta Rs 1 lakh. The family belongs to Akuni, Bhojpur. The second stage of surgery will cost them about Rs 1.3 lakh and Sah has given an application to the state government for financial assistance.

Meanwhile, Pradhan added the team of doctors, which carried out the surgery included Dr Dhananjay Kumar Suma, Dr Shashank Shekhar, Dr B.B. Bharti, Dr Amitabh Verma, Dr S.C. Bhawani and others.

According to doctors, the baby had a very complex and rare heart defect, which occurs in about five to 10 children out of 100,000 live births. “The problem most likely occurs early in pregnancy. The first surgery may be needed within the first few days of the baby’s birth. Afterward, the baby usually goes home. The child, however, will need to be administered one or more daily medications and it’s case should be closely followed by a paediatric cardiologist, who will decide when the second stage of surgery should be performed,” said a senior doctor.

He also said the final step is called the fontan procedure. “This surgery is usually performed when the child is 18 months — three years old. After this final step, the baby is no longer cyanotic or blue,” he added.