DTMT Network
Doctors at Mumbai’s Global Hospital successfully treated 4-year-old Zambian boy by closing his atrial septal defect (ASD) through a minimally invasive cardiac surgery. ASD, also known as 'hole in the heart', was closed without cutting a breast bone.

After surgery, the boy, Mohamed Ahmed Ali, can now breathe freely and can do his daily chores with ease. Before the surgery, he couldn't keep up with his peers and would require constant assistance from his parents. The baby’s health kept deteriorating, and he was constantly fatigued. When he was four-years-old, his worried parents consulted a few medicos who confirmed that the baby suffered from ASD.

Dr. Chandrashekhar Kulkarni, Consultant CVTS, Global Hospital, Parel, said, “This surgery is performed by making a small keyhole-sized incision on the right side of the chest instead of the larger incisions carried out in the conventional open-heart surgery.”

Dr Kulkarni added that the defect was closed without cutting the breast bone as he was operated between the ribs, which resulted in less pain and a quicker recovery.

This procedure requires temporarily stopping of the heart and diverting blood flow from the heart using a heart-lung bypass machine. The benefits of this surgery are less blood loss, low risk of infection, reduced trauma and pain, less noticeable scars, and shorter hospital stay.

“The surgery lasted for two-and-a-half hours and the patient was discharged on the third day after surgery. Now, the boy can breathe properly and doesn’t feel tired all the time,” said Dr. Kulkarni.