Recently, the GKNM Hospital performed the Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD) procedure via an open chest surgery on a 17-month-old boy in Coimbatore. The baby boy was one of the youngest patients in India to undertake this surgery.
The baby was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect known as Long QT Syndrome, a rare heart defect where an abnormal cardiac rhythm is experienced due to a delay in the electrical impulses triggering the heart to beat.
A team headed by Dr. R. Vijayakumar, Director, Centre for Paediatric Congenital Heart Disease, at the G. Kuppuswmay Naidu Memorial Hospital (GKNM Hospital), Coimbatore diagnosed the baby with a congenital heart defect known as Long QT Syndrome, a rare heart defect where an abnormal cardiac rhythm is experienced due to a delay in the electrical impulses triggering the heart to beat.
The surgical process was a unique one since in general cases the ICD implant device is done inside the heart through open-heart surgery, but owing to the baby’s age, the device was placed on his heart through open heart surgery.
Commenting on the surgery, Dr. R. Vijayakumar said, “The boy survived four episodes of Syncope (Fainting caused by a temporary drop in the amount of blood that flows to the brain) before the complex surgery. He was fortunate enough to survive them all but another one could have been fatal. This boy proved to be a little brave heart to undergo such major surgery and recover at a good pace. Together we have enabled him to live a near-normal life”
