Sri Ramakrishna Hospital Treats 10-Year-Old with Hydrocephalus, Large Atrial Septal Defect and Severe Valvular Pulmonary Stenosis

A 10-year old boy suffering from multiple diseases, both cardiac and neuro, was given a new lease of life by the city-based Sri Ramakrishna Hospital.

Harsha Vardhan, was suffering from normal pressure hydrocephalus, a neurological disease which needed surgery and also had large atrial septal defect (hole in the heart) and severe valvular pulmonary stenosis (valve obstruction), which also needed treatment.

Considering the condition, some hospitals were hesitant to provide treatment.

The Neurosurgeon wanted the heart to be fixed first before doing Neuro surgery. The cardiac surgeon wanted the neuro problem to be done first, because he was worried about the risks involved in doing open heart surgery in a child with neuro problem, leading to a Catch 22 situation and no one was willing to take the call, a release from Hospital said today.

With this background, the worried parents brought him to Ramakrishna hospital and Interventional Cardiologist, Dr S Manoharan, examined him and took up the challenge of solving his problem, the release said.

Deciding to fix his heart problem albeit without surgery, thus avoiding circulatory arrest (stopping the heart), Manoharan first opened the obstructed valve with a large balloon and the hole was closed with a device in a single sitting.

The whole procedure was done under simple sedation within 45 minutes.

SOURCE.