The Pediatric Cardiology team of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) has achieved an extraordinary feat. The team has successfully completed a high risk transcatheter (non-surgical) life-saving cardiac procedure at the Military Hospital (Research and Referral), Delhi Cantt.
The procedure was performed on an eight-year-old boy from Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir, who had severe narrowing of the left artery (aort) (a blood vessel that supplies pure blood to all parts of the body), causing damage to some vital organs of the body. The blood supply got disrupted and with it the efficiency of the heart also reduced.
This challenging and complex procedure was performed by making a small hole in the area between the abdomen and the thigh. A big stent was placed in it. This was a very dangerous and complex process. But everything went well and within just three days the child was discharged from the hospital without any marks on his body.
Since the boy's family was unable to afford his treatment, the Dagger Division of the Indian Army brought the boy to a military hospital under Operation Sadbhavana conducted in Jammu and Kashmir. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Military Hospital (R&R), New Delhi, Chinar Corps/Dagger Division, Jammu & Kashmir and Indrani Balan Foundation, Pune, the boy will now be able to lead a normal life in future. The expertise to perform such complex procedures is available only at a few centers in the country, including the Military Hospital (R&R) – Delhi Cantt.