HYDERABAD: A complicated cardiac surgery, Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) stenting, was performed to save the life of a tiny 24-day-old infant at CARE Hospital Banjara Hills a week ago.

PDA is a temporary blood vessel that allows blood to bypass the baby's lungs before birth. It normally gets closed within a few days after birth once the newborn's lungs take over. When it persists, the PDA is closed either with medicines or surgery. While 8 per 1,000 live births have congenital heart disease, about 50 per cent of them are born with serious ailments. It is estimated that 20 per cent of those with serious ailments have PDA-dependent circulation.

Cardiac problem

Following detection of cardiac problem in one of the twins in Kurnool district recently, the doctors referred the infant to CARE hospital. It was found that the baby boy had PDA-dependent circulation as the pulmonary valve remained closed. The PDA had to be kept open as surgery could not be performed to perforate the pulmonary valve for free flow of blood from right ventricle to lungs as the infant was weighing just 1.9 kg.

Nageswara Rao Koneti, paediatric cardiologist, who did the procedure, described it as unique and technically very challenging. Through cardiac catheter intervention, the stent was inserted to keep PDA dilated. After the baby puts on some weight, the pulmonary valve would be perforated.

He said that normally in such babies, BT shunt surgery would be performed to keep a prosthetic pipe between aorta and lungs for free flow of blood. PDA-stenting is a newly-developed alternative procedure for BT shunt surgery.

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