Preetham, a 2 year old boy born of consanguineous parents had features of downs syndrome, came with history of failure to thrive to RRTI . An ECHO done revealed severe valvular aortic stenosis with sub valvar membrane and muscle hypertrophy. He had been to many cardiac centeand he was denied surgery. The parents wanted him to be operated on and were even ready to accept death on the table. They came to SS Narayana Heart Centre in Davangere from Bijapur.
He was admitted in SS Narayana Heart Centre Davangere and his respiratory infection was treated and he was operated on 9/6/14. He was placed on CPB, his heart was arrested and the aorta was opened. The valve was found to be ok, however the sub valvar membrane was severly obstructing the LVOT. The muscle hypertrophy also was severe. The membrane was excised in total and a myectomy was performed. the rest of the surgery went well. His post operative period was uneventful and he was discharged from our SS Narayana Heart centre Davangere in stable condition on 18/06/14.
These type of cases usually are a genetic abnormality and happen one in a lakh. The problem faced is if the valve is diseased and leaking, it needs to be repaired. Because valve replacement in such small babies is extremely difficult, this type of surgery can be performed only by expertise hands who can repair the valve in case required. Preetham has done well and we wish that he will grow up to have decent valve replacement in the future which will be mandatory.
Thanks to Dr.Srinivass.B our cardiologist who gave us a perfect clinical diagnosis so that we could plan the surgery well. Thanks to Dr.Madhusudan Bhovi our anesthetist who managed the case well, during and after the surgery. Thanks to all our OT and ITU staff for their support to manage such a small child who weighed only 7 Kgs.