The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Pakistani child in fine fettle after heart surgery

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Pakistani child in fine fettle after heart surgery

By M. Dinesh Varma

Fatima Khan

CHENNAI, JUNE 9. Pakistani entrepreneur Naseem Ahmed Khan and his wife Farhana have never felt as much relief in their lives as when their six-year-old daughter, Fatima Khan, successfully underwent surgery for a complex congenital heart problem recently at a private hospital in Chennai.

Fatima suffered from `Dextrocardia Situs Inversus', a medical condition where the apex of the heart as well as the heart's chambers and visceral organs such as the liver and the spleen are situated on the right side, and Double Outlet Right Ventricle with severe Pulmonary Artery Hypertension. A hole in the heart combined with both the big blood vessels arising from the right ventricle resulted in the mixing of oxygenated and de-oxygenated blood.

The child was admitted to the International Center for Cardiothoracic and Vascular Diseases under the Frontier Lifeline Ltd., for treatment.

"The surgery was planned in two stages", said K. M. Cherian, chairman of the International Centre.

In December 2000, Fatima (then two years old) was subjected to procedures known as pulmonary artery banding, PDA ligation and atrial septectomy.

Last week, surgeons went in for a complete correction of the congenital heart defect. Fatima was in the ICU for two days before being released to her room.

According to Dr. Cherian, the complex disorder occurs in about one in 1,00,000 children. There are, he said, four more children from Pakistan awaiting the second stage correction of congenital heart defects. The children had their first stage operation done by Dr. Cherian between 1999 and 2000.

Over the years, India has become a destination for hi-tech and affordable medical care, says Dr. Cherian, who has operated on around 60 patients, including children, from Pakistan alone.

"We opted to come here on the insistence of our relatives in Nagpur," said Mr. Khan. Though there are some good hospitals in Pakistan, their relatives prevailed upon them to come to India, he added. The couple even looked up the web before finalising Chennai.

After her surgery, Fatima looks hale and hearty and is eager to rejoin her friends at the Alterene High School, Karachi. The family leaves for home next week.

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