Heart Surgery - A Case of How Heart Surgery Transformed the Child Who Never Played

Does it seem strange if you see a child who doesn't love to play? It would, right? This particular child’s parents too felt the same when they noticed that their small girl was never interested in running around, or joining other kids in doing what kids usually do, play!

But, they also noticed that their girl was a bit too tired always, always sleepy, she always expected her dad to carry her around. When she was sent to play, she would make an attempt, feel tired, sit around, and return. These problems gradually worsened and it became the worst when she turned 3 years old. Or, it was perhaps at this time that the parents really felt that there was something amiss with their daughter, and that their daughter was not ‘lazy’, or something around those lines.

They immediately took the girl to their doctor. The doctor diagnosed that the girl had a congenital heart disease. In medical terminology this is identified as ‘Tetrology of Fallot’. In the layman’s parlance it is often referred to as a ‘hole in the heart’. The parents were at a loss when the doctor mentioned to them the fact that their hospital was not equipped to handle the required surgery on a girl that young with the equipment they currently had at their hospital. Worse still they did not have a pediatric cardiologist in their hospital who could take up the heart surgery.

The hospital did convey to the parents the fact that if the medical problem were to be left untreated the girl had very slim chances of survival.

The parents desperately looked around for alternatives and they came to hear through their hospital and their doctor that the heart surgery could be carried out successfully in India.

Subsequently, the case report was sent to our hospital. The team of pediatric cardiologists at our hospital checked upon the reports the parents had sent to us. They analyzed the reports and arrived at the fact that a total heart repair was required. The doctors advised that the girl could be flown down to India to take the treatment forward.

Once they arrived in India for treatment, the doctors suggested that various tests be conducted on the girl since the reports currently in hand were old. Current reports were required to assess the exact situation the girl was in. The tests performed on the girl were the usual routine blood test, urine test,ECG, Echo, and Cardiac Catheterization.

The reports revealed to the doctors that the child indeed had Tetrology of Fallot, which required correction of Pulmonary Infundibular Stenosis and septal defect.

The child was posted for surgery the very next day. Doctors advised the parents to not feed the child during the morning of the surgery day, since the child was posted for surgery in the afternoon. It is important that the child be ‘nil by mouth’ four hours before surgery.

The surgery was conducted under general anesthesia.  Four cardiovascular surgeons, one pediatric cardiologist, 2 anesthetists, 2 perfusionists to monitor the heart-lungmachine, and the other support team were present during the open heart surgery.

The doctors gained access to the heart by cutting open the sternum. The septal defect was closed with pericardium, and the pulmonary infundibular stenosis too was corrected.

The child was in the intensive coronary care unit for 2 days. The child was very stable, and was doing good. On the 5^th day, the doctors advised that the child be made to walk around the corridors of the hospital. On the 10^th day the stitches were removed, and the patient was discharged.

The patient was called back for a review after a week post the surgery.

The review revealed that the child was stable and was 'fit to fly'. The parents were advised to treat the child as normal, and treat her as they would treat any other child. They also advised that the child could be admitted to a school.

Thus the child got to experience a new lease of life post the corrective heart surgery.

Cancer in the Thigh - A Case of a Patient with Soft Tissue Sarcoma Who Survived Amputation of the Limb

A medical travel to India can be a life-saver; this international patient experienced it first-hand after receiving treatment at our hospital. 

An international patient had pain in his leg since almost 6 months, and when the pain became unbearable he approached a hospital in his country for treatment. The orthopedic surgeon in his country conducted some investigations and it was discovered that the patient had a cancerous tumor in his thigh. They conducted a biopsy on the patient, and following which the tumor was removed by surgery.

The removed tumor was then sent to the lab for investigation. The investigation reports revealed that the tumor was not completely removed and that some numbers of tumor cells were still present in the body.  The treating doctor at this stage recommended our hospital to the patient, and advised the patient that our hospital be contacted to take the case forward.

The patient made contact with our hospital and the patient's reports were sent to the doctors from the oncology department in our hospital. The treating doctor at our hospital studied the report extensively and suggested that another surgery be performed on the patient. He suggested that another surgery was necessary to remove the remnant tumor cells from the body. He suggested that if those cancerous cells were left in the body and not removed they had a tendency to grow back and also spread to other parts of the body. This eventually would put the patient's life at risk at a later time.

The patient was advised to fly down to India for medical treatment. The patient flew down to India immediately. Once the patient arrived at India, the treating doctor suggested that PET and CT scans be performed on him. The scans revealed that the patient had no cancerous cells in any other part of the body other than his affected limb. Once this was confirmed, the treating doctor performed the required surgery on the patient and excised the cancerous tumor in its entirety from the patient.

The patient recovered from the surgery within a week's time, and he was then able to walk freely and without any pain. This surgery was supposed to be followed by radiation therapy. The patient wanted to take up the radiation therapy in his country. Once the patient had recovered from the surgery, he was discharged and he flew back to his country for further treatment.

The miracle of the surgery conducted on the patient in our hospital is that the patient was in a position to retain the function of his limb. It so is the norm that when a patient is affected with cancerous tumor on either his arms or limbs, the only solution to treating this kind of cancer is amputation of the affected limb or arm. It is thanks to the surgical expertise of the treating doctor, the advancements in the investigation techniques, and the better understanding of this particular kind of cancer that the patient was lucky to retain his affected limb.

The medical travel to India proved to be a life-saver for this patient. He and his family mentioned that they were immensely fortunate to having come to our hospital and undergoing treatment at the expert hands of the treating doctor. They have since then recommended our hospital to numerous patients in their country.

The expertise of the treating doctor and the technology available at our hospital has been saving lives and changing the lives of affected patients on a daily basis.