A premature baby weighing 1.6 kg, second child of a nurse hailing from Vellore, underwent pacemaker implant five days after delivery at a private hospital in Coimbatore recently.
The baby girl’s mother had undergone surgical correction for congenital heart disorder called Atrial Septal Defect in 2008 and her first child had died of congenital heart problems after birth, a few years ago.
Priya, 25, of Arani near Vellore, a B.Sc. nurse by profession, gave birth to the child at a hospital in Thanjavur on May 23. Low levels of amniotc fluid in the womb had led to premature delivery.
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Knowing the financial constraints of the family, doctors referred the mother and child to GKNM Hospital, Coimbatore, which has been partnering with Gurugram-based Genesis Foundation, an organisation that supports treatment of children with congenital heart defects.
“During pregnancy, Priya had systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease, due to which children born are more prone to heart problems,” said R. Vijayakumar, paediatric cardiothoracic surgeon with GKNM Hospital whose team performed the pacemaker implant on May 28.
Genesis Foundation bore the cost of the procedure through its CSR partner H T Parekh Foundation and arranged a pacemaker from a medical equipment manufacturer free of cost.
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“The newborn's heart rate at birth was less than 43 beats per minute as against desired heart rate ranging between 100 and 150 beats per minute due to which the bay requirement of a pacemaker implant,” said Dr. Vijayakumar.
“I am delighted that Genesis Foundation could facilitate the implantation pacemaker on the fifth day of birth of a very special infant weighing just 1.6 kg. And, what is more gratifying is that timely intervention saved the baby of a couple who had earlier lost their first born to a congenital heart defect,” said Jyoti Sagar, founder trustee of Genesis Foundation.
The mother and child were discharged from the hospital on June 1.