Hope for infant after rare surgery

Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Thursday successfully operated on a 10-day-old baby whose heart was sticking out from his chest.

Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Thursday successfully operated on a 10-day-old baby whose heart was sticking out from his chest.

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The path-breaking surgery was led by cardiac surgeon A.K. Bisoi.

This infant is the only surviving example in India of someone born with complete thoracic Ectopia Cordis — a malfunction where the child is born with his heart in an abnormal position. In this baby’s case, his heart was protruding 100 per cent outside his chest, with zero immunity and no protective lining. See graphic

“As there was no space in his body to accommodate the heart, we literally created a home for it in his body. We mobilised the diaphragm by almost 60 degrees anterior and to the left. Then we gently pushed other organs like the lungs and liver to create space,” said Dr Bisoi. “Then we gently placed the heart partly in the heart cavity and partly in the stomach cavity without twisting, kinking or rotating anything.”

The infant, who has not been named yet, is awake and responding.