Four Ethiopian children had open-heart surgery this month at the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, a press release from the hospital said.
The children from the East African country approached the hospital after having waited for years for foreign surgery teams to arrive at its capital, Addis Ababa. While the city has some facilities for open heart surgery, it does not have pediatric cardiac surgeons to perform complex surgeries, the children’s parents said.
Though one child was listed for surgery in Israel, they could not travel due to the pandemic. All patients hail from families with financial constraints.
Mezida Abdu, 12, suffered from ‘double outlet right ventricle’. Bilen Workineh, 13, needed surgery for ‘ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus’. Tibebesilasse Kassahun, 16, and Baby Kejan Haile, 6, suffered from ‘tetralogy of fallot’.
Hospital director Dr C N Manjunath said six to seven out of every 1,000 babies have these complex congenital diseases, more commonly in the form of heart holes or narrowing valves.
The usual symptoms of heart holes are fever, recurrent cough, common cold, pneumonia, growth retardation, bluish discolouration of skin and nails, and poor weight gain. Most children with these conditions die before their 10th year without surgery.
Dr P S Seetharam Bhat from the surgery team said that these complex surgeries were routine at Jayadeva. After recovering from the surgeries, the children flew back to Ethiopia following a 10-day stay at the hospital.
The parents had connected with the hospital through the Rotary International and Needy Heart Foundation. The surgeries were done at a subsidised cost.