The Hindu : New Delhi News : Baby admitted to AIIMS with rare congenital anomaly

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Monday, Aug 31, 2009
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New Delhi

Baby admitted to AIIMS with rare congenital anomaly

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI: A three-day-old baby has been admitted to the Cardiothoracic Centre of All-India Institute of Medical Sciences here for treatment of a very rare congenital anomaly called Ectopia cordis. The baby’s heart is protruding through its chest and the heart also has an internal defect. Doctors at AIIMS say the condition is seen in not more than 5-8 cases in a million births. Also, in a majority of cases the baby is still born or dies within hours after birth. Till now, 230 such cases have been reported in the world of which there are only three survivors. Institute’s cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. A. K. Bisoi, under whose treatment the child, is said: “The baby was born in Bihar and he was brought to us in a very critical condition. He was totally exhausted and dehydrated and was wrapped in an unhygienic thin cloth with his heart exposed to infections. The child has been admitted to the intensive care unit and a team of doctors are taking care of him.” A committee of doctors from neo-natology, cardiology, and paediatric surgery departments has been constituted to ensure that the child gets the best treatment.

“The child came to us on Friday completely dehydrated after the train journey in the general compartment with strong indication of infection. We started treatment with correcting the water loss and then isolated the heart with a sterile synthetic patch,” said Dr. Bisoi. He added that if the child manages to survive then the doctors will work at creating space in the chest to place the heart. This defect can be diagnosed in three to five weeks of pregnancy through ultrasound and foetal echo-cardiogram.

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