Ajit Pradhan (second from left) operates on six-year-old Ashish Kumar at Jeevak Heart Hospital and Research Institute in Patna on Saturday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Oct. 25: Jeevak Heart Hospital and Research Institute today held a workshop focusing on “blue baby syndrome”, which usually occurs among patients of tetralogy of fallot.

Tetralogy of fallot (TOF) is a congenital heart disease, which results in newborn babies with blue skin. Ashish Kumar, a six-year-old patient suffering from blue baby syndrome, was operated upon by Ajit Pradhan, chief cardiac surgeon of the hospital. Pradhan would operate two more patients of blue baby syndrome in the next two days.

“TOF is a rare heart condition caused by a combination of four heart defects that are present since the time of birth. Patients develop a hole between their ventricles of their heart. Besides, the muscular wall of the right ventricle becomes thicker and the pulmonary valve narrows. The aortic valve is enlarged in this condition and it seems to be open from both ventricles rather than from left ventricle only which happens in the normal heart. These defects affect the structure of the heart and it also causes poor supply of oxygen in the heart and also into the rest of the body. Infants and children with TOF usually have blue skin tone because their blood does not carry enough oxygen. Early diagnosis of the disease is necessary for the patients suffering from the disease so that their treatment could be started on time,” said Pradhan.

Pradhan added: “So far as treatment for blue baby syndrome and TOF is concerned, surgery is the only option. Even after surgery, the patient is put on medication for six months. If surgery is not done in the initial phase of the disease, the patient may not lead a normal life. The heart ailments would grow and it might endanger the life of patient. So for patients of TOF, it is better to get the surgery done.”

The surgery, however, also involves risks, said Pradhan. “Around 2 per cent patients die during the surgery. There might be liver failure, kidney failure or any other problem but surgery is the best option because the chances of patients’ survival is already low in this case,” added Pradhan.

At Jeevak Heart Hospital, he said, one needs to pay Rs 1.5 lakh for the surgery while people need to shell out around Rs 4 lakh for the same surgery at hospitals in Delhi. “Incidents of congenital heart diseases are 8 to 10 per 1000 births. Some of the congenital heart diseases are life-threatening in the first few months of life and thereby need early diagnosis and prompt treatment,” said Pradhan.