Newborn babies born with complex congenital anomalies are surgically corrected on the rising majority of congenital cardiac disabilities. Operating on newborn, low-birth-weight babies is a challenging task for surgeons. Interventional cardiac science has made tremendous strides to treat newborn babies with safe and effective interventional procedures.
Thanks to medical technology and expertise available at KLES Dr Prabhakar Kore Hospital, Belagavi. Dr Veeresh Manvi, Pediatric Interventional Cardiologist, is at the forefront of treating complex pediatric cardiac anomalies using interventional technology.
Case: In the routine fetal scan, the expectant mother was diagnosed a baby with a large perimembranous VSD (hole in the heart) with coarctation of the aorta (narrowing of the large artery that carries oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle to the rest of the body). The diagnosed newborn, pre-term bay weighing 1900gram was born at KLES Charitable Hospital.
The child developed difficulty in breathing, shock, and severe dysfunction of the heart function (LVEF=25%). Dr Veeresh Manvi evaluated the baby, and a diagnosis of VSD with severe coarctation of the aorta was made. It was decided to perform a high-risk emergency cardiac intervention procedure,“Balloon Dilation of Coarctation of Aorta”.
This is the first procedure performed in North Karnataka, South Maharashtra & Goa on a 13-day baby which was weighing just 1900 gms. The process was accomplished by passing a small guidewire through the femoral artery using a balloon. The narrowed aorta was enlarged to the extent that it could supply blood to the body. The baby showed steady recovery, and the patient was discharged from the hospital without any complications. It needs precision, skill and expertise, said Prof. (Dr.) Richard Saldanha, the chief of Cardio-Vascular Surgeon at the hospital. He congratulated Dr Veeresh Manvi & his team. The parents have expressed their deep sense of gratitude to Dr Veeresh Manvi & his team for saving the child’s life.
The cardiac anesthetists, Dr Anand Vagrali and Rajesh, assisted the procedure with Dr Vinayak Janu. Dr Manisha Bhandankar, a Neonatologist, provided newborn care to the baby.
Similarly, a three-day baby weighing 2500 gms from Nippani with reduced urine output and congenital heart defect was evaluated by Dr Veeresh Manvi and diagnosed as critical valvular aortic stenosis with severe ventricular dysfunction. This child also underwent an emergency lifesaving interventional “Balloon Aortic Valvotomy” procedure. In this case, Dr Ravi Kerur administered anesthesia. The child responded well to the process and showed significant improvement. In another case, a 2900-gram newborn baby presented with severe coarctation of the aorta and shock. This child also underwent balloon dilatation of coarctation of the aorta by Dr Veeresh Manvi and was successfully discharged. In all these cases, interventional procedures are performed without needing open-heart surgery.
Dr Veeresh Manvi has opined that such lifesaving complex procedures are successfully performed on newborns. Such practices need an advanced Cath-lab, state-of-the-art facilities, and post-procedure care which are available at the KLES Dr Prabhakar Kore Hospital Belagavi, Karnataka state. Dr Prabhakar Kore Chairman KLE Society congratulated to Dr. Veeresh Manvi and team for successfully performing rare procedure and saving the lives of the children.
