A team of doctors at Noida (India) gave a new lease of life to a three-year-old Pakistani child who was suffering from a rare heart disease called Uhl's anomaly that is found in one among 200,000 children.
According to a health news channel, Mohammad Bilal's muscles of the right chamber of his heart were weak and enlarged, which increased pressure on his heart's left chamber.
“As a result, the child's heart was not functioning properly and the pumped blood was unable to reach his lungs that posed a high risk to his life, doctors said in statement on Friday.
Bilal was treated with the Fontan procedure and right ventricle exclusion from circulation method, a critical surgical procedure that took about five hours.
“Under this procedure, the entire blue blood of the child's body was pumped directly into his lungs through a tube and the right chamber of the heart is removed,” doctors said.
“Due to prolonged illness, the child had become very weak, hence, he was kept on ventilator for four days post-surgery. Along with this, he was given medicines so that his body gains immunity and does not develop any infections,” they added.
Bilal was also given a high calorie, high protein and vitamin diet through a feeding tube to ensure speedy recovery. He was discharged last week, the doctor said.
Ailing Pakistanis frequently to travel to India on medical visas to seek treatment for complicated health problems.
Indian hospitals like the Apollo in Delhi have previously reported receiving around 500 patients from Pakistan every month. Many of the unwell needed a liver transplant, which costs between Rs2-3 million. Pakistani patients also fly to the southern Indian city of Chennai, which is considered the centre for any heart-related treatment.
