Two months after successful surgery in Noida, Pakistan baby dies of dehydration

The surgical operation, conducted at Noida’s Jaypee Hospital on June 14, was made possible through the intervention of external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.

A five-month-old Pakistani baby died of dehydration on Sunday night, barely a fortnight since he left India after a successful cardiac surgery at Noida’s Jaypee Hospital.

Despite tension between the two countries, Rohaan and his Lahore-based parents had managed to secure a medical visa to India through the intervention of external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on humanitarian grounds.

According to reports, Rohaan was rushed to a Lahore hospital after he came down with diarrhoea on Sunday. The baby, however, could not be saved. “My Rohaan passed away last night. He fought and conquered with major heart surgery but slipped and fell in grave due to little dehydration (sic),” his father, Kanwal Siddiq, tweeted.

He went on to thank Swaraj and the people of India for the love and support they extended to Rohaan in trying times. “Life is fragile, despite all efforts Rohaan passed away to a better place. Thank u and people of India for all efforts. God bless,” the caption under a photograph of his son’s grave read.

A group of doctors had performed an exhaustive five-hour surgery on Rohaan at the Noida hospital on June 14. The baby was suffering from a complex condition that caused his heart to pump deoxygenated blood, bringing about bouts of pneumonia and making his body turn blue.

Doctors at Jaypee said Rohaan was “perfectly normal” when he reached Lahore in July. “We kept in touch with the parents after they reached. Rohaan was doing fine, and his reports were good until last Friday. We even suggested that his feeding be increased, and the baby began putting on weight. However, on Sunday, his parents called to say that they were admitting Rohaan to a hospital because he had come down with diarrhoea. Soon, we received the tragic news of his death,” said a doctor.

The Siddiqs managed to get a medical visa to India after Kanwal approached Swaraj for help on Twitter.