Doctors at All India medical science (AIIMS) Delhi meticulously performed a successful ‘balloon dilation’ in a grape-sized baby’s heart inside the baby’s mother’s womb.
A team of doctors from the departments of interventional cardiology, Obstetrics, and Gynaecology performed the procedure on a 28-week fetus in just 90 seconds only in the month of January.
The baby is to be delivered next week.
Prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Proud of India’s doctors for their dexterity and innovation. I congratulate the team of doctors of @AIIMS_NewDelhi for performing a successful rare procedure on the grape size heart of a fetus in 90 seconds. My prayers for the well-being of the baby and the mother.”
The woman carrying the child has had a history of two miscarriages and the last baby died within 20 days of its birth.
The doctor who performed the procedure said, “The procedure needed meticulous planning and took us 90 seconds in total but we made plans for hours and hours to make this happen.”
The team also went through mock drills before performing this procedure. The doctors spoke with the parents before undergoing the procedure as most parents terminate such pregnancies.
The total cost of the procedure is less than Rs.20000.
The patient was discharged less than a week after the surgery.
The mother was on regular follow-ups every week, especially for Fetal echocardiography (echo).
The Gynaecology team while speaking to the media said, “The patient is doing well and the baby is doing better. The size of the ventricle has been maintained. The child will be delivered next week and soon after the birth will do the echo and will observe the development.”