PONDICERRY: A 38-day-old baby boy from Modellarpeth was operated upon for congenital heart defect at the Frontier Lifeline Hospital, Chennai.

Prem Sakthi, son of Muthukumaraswamy (a driver), was born with the medical defect known as total anomalous pulmonary venous return, which is normally found in less than one per cent of newborns.

Successful surgery

"After the successful surgery on April 27 last month the child was discharged on 8 May," a release from the hospital said.

The case was taken up after a special request from Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, the release further said.

"We have been told by the Chief Minister that the government would bear the expenditure," the release added.

Around 95 per cent of the infants with such defect would die at the time of birth itself.

According to Dr K M Cherian, who led the team of surgeons, the children who have undergone surgical repair would grow normally.

However, they need periodic check-up.

"Regular follow-up care at a center offering paediatric or adult congenital care should be done throughout life," he noted.

The defect occurs due to abnormal development of the foetal heart during first 8 weeks of pregnancy, which would make the vessels that bring oxygen-rich blood back to the heart from the lungs improperly connected.

A child with the defect becomes cyanotic (blue colouring of the skin, lips and nail beds) in the first days of life after the maternal source of oxygen, from the placenta, is removed, according to Dr K M Cherian, Chiarman of the hospital.

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