Dr Vijay Agarwal, paediatric cardiac surgeon & Dr Swati Garekar, paediatric cardiologist

Hospital staff’s efforts save baby

Deepa Sarna Gawli

A one-and-a-half-month-old baby boy, who was diagnosed with complex heart defects, was saved due to the efforts of the staff of a Mulund hospital. Had they not raised funds for his treatment in time, it would have been difficult to save the baby.

The baby Rajbeer Singh Sidhu was born on September 25. He was suffering from pneumonia and was hospitalised. Since the baby was not responding to the treatment, his parents shifted him to another hospital in Mulund on October 17. Doctors at this hospital diagnosed him with a heart defect.

“His echocardiogram showed he had a complex heart defect called Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection to Portal Vein with additional complications of severe pulmonary hypertension and reduced heart function. This condition requires urgent surgery,” explained Dr Vijay Agarwal, paediatric cardiac surgeon. However, the surgery involved a cost of about Rs3.5 lakh, which was impossible for the baby’s parents to arrange.

Rajbeer’s father Shravan is suffering from a liver ailment. So, he has been jobless for the last one-and-a-half years. The baby’s grandmother, the only earning member in the family, earns Rs2500 a month.

“When doctors informed me that the surgery would cost around Rs3.5 lakh, I was shocked. Before Fortis hospital, Mulund, my son was admitted in a private hospital. I was arranging for the discharge documents from the private hospital, when I got a call from a Fortis doctor who informed me that funds for the baby’s surgery had been arranged. He asked me to admit the baby and said the hospital staff would do the rest,” said Shravan.

The baby was admitted in the paediatric cardiac intensive care unit. He underwent a corrective open heart bypass surgery the next day. “The operation lasted for 6 hours. He was discharged 10 days later,” said Dr Swati Garekar, paediatric cardiologist who along with Dr Vijay performed the surgery.

“We are very grateful to the hospital staff who managed the funds. Even if I had tried my best, I would not have been able to arrange for such a big amount. To me, the doctors were like God because they saved my son’s life,” said Shravan who lives with his wife, mother and elder son at a slum near Amar Nagar in Mulund.

Doctors say timely treatment is vital to most heart defects. Heart defects are the most common type of congenital defects in a newborn.