Army Institute of Cardio-Thoracic Sciences (AICTS) based in Pune is a super specialisation institute dealing with Cardio-Thoracic Sciences.
Recently a 14-day old boy of a serving soldier after birth was detected with slow heart rate and diagnosed with complete heart block. The baby was referred to the team of specialists at AICTS for further medical and surgical management. It was found to be a rare case of complete heart block which occurs in one in 22,000 births and requires immediate surgical management if the medical intervention fails.
Since medical intervention could not increase the heart rate it was decided to provide mechanical stimulation to the heart by inserting a permanent pacemaker. The child was operated by the doctors at AICTS and a permanent pacemaker was implanted in the upper abdominal wall of the child which is connected to the heart through a lead positioned surgically on the surface of the heart by opening the chest wall.
The child has been successfully operated and the doctors at this Army specialist Cardio-Thoracic Facility deserve compliments for undertaking this difficult life-saving surgery on a newborn baby, who has been discharged from the hospital and is stable at home.
