4 Ethiopian children undergo open heart surgery at Jayadeva hospital in Bengaluru

Out of every 1,000 babies born, about seven will have complex congenital diseases, say doctors

Doctors at the State-run Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research in Bengaluru carried out open heart surgery on four children from Ethiopia.

Out of the four, two were blue babies, one was suffering from Double Outlet Right Ventricle, and the other child was suffering from a large hole in the heart with severe pulmonary hypertension.. 

The children from Ethiopia, in east Africa, were waiting for years for a foreign surgical team to arrive in Addis Ababa, to carry out open heart surgery, said institute Director C.N. Manjunath.

“According to the parents, Ethiopia does not have paediatric cardiac surgeons to perform complex congenital heart surgeries.. One child was listed for the surgery in Israel, but because of COVID, the family could not go there,” he said.

“Out of every 1,000 babies born, about seven will have these complex congenital diseases, more commonly in the form of Tetralogy of Fallot, heart holes or narrowing of the valves. The usual symptoms of heart holes are fever, recurrent cough, common cold, pneumonia, growth retardation and bluish discoloration of skin and nails, and poor weight gain. Most of the children with these diseases die before the age of 10, if not operated,” he said.

P.S. Seetharama Bhat, Professor and Senior Consultant in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the institute who performed these surgeries, said these complex heart surgeries are common at Jayadeva.

While Master Tibebesilasse Kassahun, 16, from Guleli, and Kejan Haile, 6, from Angecha were suffering from Tetralogy of Fallot, Mezida Abdu, 12, from Kolfe Keranio, was suffering from Double Outlet Right Ventricle, which required a complex intraventricular tunnel operation. The fourth child — Bilen Workineh, 13, from Burlew — required surgery for Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) and Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).