Dr. Anil Kumar Singhi, Head of Paediatric Cardiology & Senior Interventional Cardiology at Medica Superspecialty Hospital (A unit of Manipal Hospitals Network), performed a rare, life-saving cardiac procedure without surgery on a nine-month-old baby girl from Hili in Dakshin Dinajpur. With the crucial assistance of a multidisciplinary team that included physicians from Anaesthesia, Cardiology, and Paediatrics, as well as the CTVS surgical team, who were available to handle any emergency, the girl miraculously recovered. The child’s family, who depend on agriculture, could not have otherwise afforded the advanced treatment, so the procedure was carried out under the Government of West Bengal’s Sishu Saathi scheme, which guarantees free treatment for children with heart diseases.

From early infancy until the end of 2024, baby “Ananya” (name changed), who was born into a farming family, had been experiencing breathing difficulties and poor weight gain. As her condition deteriorated and she failed to thrive despite medication, her parents became more and more concerned. She was diagnosed with a complex congenital heart defect locally at the age of four months.

After being referred to Medica Superspecialty Hospital, the Paediatric and Congenital Heart Disease team, under the direction of Dr. Anil Kumar Singhi, conducted a thorough evaluation and discovered a rare and dangerous defect known as the aortopulmonary window. Her heart failure resulted from this aberrant connection between the aorta and the pulmonary artery, the two main arteries that supply blood to her lungs four times more frequently than usual.

Dr. Anil Kumar Singhi said, “Open heart surgery is usually used to treat this defect, ideally prior to the child being six months old. We chose to try a less invasive transcatheter closure at Medica, even though there was a high risk of lung damage at nine months. Under sedation and local anaesthesia, we guided a closure device through the baby’s leg’s tiny blood vessels, sealed the defects, and guided it to her heart. Despite the failure of the first attempt, we persevered and were successful on the second attempt. Within minutes of the device being precisely positioned, the baby’s lung pressure drastically decreased. It is extremely uncommon to close such a large heart defect in such a small child without open-heart surgery. Her speedy recuperation demonstrates what is medically achievable with prompt action and the appropriate knowledge”.

A testament to the effectiveness of minimally invasive modern cardiac care, the baby was stable, smiling, and feeding well after the procedure on May 14, 2025, and was moved to the intensive care unit for observation before being released the following day.

This case represents a significant accomplishment for the Paediatric Cardiology department at Medica Superspecialty Hospital and reaffirms their dedication to offering even the most economically disadvantaged children top-notch cardiac care.

Priyanka Dutta