A month-old baby boy, critically sick because of a congenital heart defect, has been turned around by a team of doctors at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, faculty of medicine of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA), here recently.

The baby’s father Ramakanta Bhoi of Nimapara in Puri district brought him to the hospital on January 2. The baby was having breathing difficulties at the time of admission and was immediately rushed into the ICU and put on mechanical ventilation and advanced life support system.

Bedside echocardiography, done immediately, revealed that the baby was suffering from Coarctation of aorta which was subsequently confirmed by the Pediatric cardiology team headed by Dr. Anuspandana Mahapatra.

Doctors in the neonatal and cardiology teams, after discussion, decided to shift the baby to the cathlab and balloon angioplasty was performed through a catheter inserted into a large blood vessel in the groin.

The procedure, conducted by Dr. Kumar Gaurav Behera, was successful as the baby improved clinically following which ventilator support was withdrawn. The baby started to accept oral feeds and direct breast feeding.

Aortic coarctation is the narrowing of the aorta which forces the heart to pump harder to move blood through the aorta. The condition is generally present at birth with mild to severe symptoms and can turn fatal if immediate treatment is not given.

The neonatal team comprised Dr. Ratan Das, Dr. Debasish Nanda, Dr. Bhabagrahi Mallick, Dr. Bineet Panigrahi, Dr. Payal Pradhan, Dr. Kalpita, Dr. Shiolpa, Dr. Vijay Tej Kola and Dr. Debiprasad Sahoo along with staff nurses, technicians and residents who took clinical care of the baby. The team appreciated the support received from the hospital’s Medical Superintendent Prof. (Dr.) Pusparaj Samantasinhar and Dean of IMS and SUM Hospital Prof. (Dr.) Sanghamitra Mishra.