AIIMS Doctors Perform Extremely Complex Surgery On Grape-Size Heart Of Foetus In Mother

The woman, crestfallen after hearing about the baby’s condition, was determined to continue with the pregnancy and agreed to allow the doctors carry out the procedure on the foetus’ heart.

New Delhi: A team of doctors from AIIMS have successfully performed a complex surgery on grape-size heart of foetus and reshaped it inside a mother’s womb  in just 90 seconds. The 28-year-old pregnant patient was admitted to the hospital with three previous pregnancy losses. The parents wished to continue the current pregnancy after the doctors informed about the child’s heart condition and consented to the procedure with a wish to improve the outcome.

The woman, crestfallen after hearing about the baby’s condition, was determined to continue with the pregnancy and agreed to allow the doctors carry out the procedure on the foetus’ heart.

The procedure was done at the Cardiothoracic Sciences Centre, AIIMS. The team of interventional cardiologists and fetal medicine specialists performed the successful procedure.

“A team of interventional cardiologists along with doctors from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at AIIMS performed the procedure termed balloon dilation in the obstructed valve of the heart. Under the procedure which was performed under the guidance of ultrasound, a needle was inserted in the heart of the foetus and then using a balloon catheter, the obstructed valve was unclogged,” a senior doctor told news agency PTI.

“The whole procedure had to be done very swiftly. It was very challenging. We managed to do it in around one-and-half minutes,” the doctor said. “With this reshaping procedure, hopefully the foetus’ heart will develop better. Both the foetus and the mother are stable and are being monitored closely,” the doctor added.

Taking to twitter, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “I congratulate the team of doctors of @AIIMS_NewDelhi for performing successful rare procedure on grape size heart of a fetus in 90 seconds. My prayers for the well-being of the baby and the mother.”

Both mother and fetus doing well

According to the team of doctors from Department of Cardiology & Cardiac Anesthesia, along with Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology (Fetal medicine) of AIIMS, “The fetus and the mother are both doing well after the procedure. The teams of doctors are monitoring the growth of the heart chambers to ultimately determine the baby’s future management.”

“Some types of serious heart diseases can be diagnosed while the baby is in the mother’s womb. Sometimes, treating them in the womb may improve the outlook for the baby after birth and lead to near normal development,” the team further said.

What is Balloon Dilation surgery?

A balloon dilation is a cardiac catheterization procedure, a small, flexible tube (catheter) is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin, and guided to the inside of the heart.

The tube has a deflated balloon in the tip. When the tube is placed in the narrowed valve, the balloon is inflated to stretch the area open.