Excelsior Correspondent
DELHI/NCR, Apr 13: A team of doctors at Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) performed a rare Double Root Translocation Surgery to cure 3-year-old boy, Mohammed Aasim from Safapora, Ganderbal in Kashmir.
The complexity of the case required an 8-hour long surgery to correct the condition of a large hole in the heart as well as the aorta and pulmonary artery coming out from the wrong chamber. The treatment was supported by a joint initiative by Fortis Foundation, Rotary Club of Delhi – East End and Radha Mohan Mehrotra Medical Relief Trust (RMMMRT) to provide treatment to children from economically weaker sections of society. The team of doctors was led by Dr Vijay Agarwal, Director & Head of Department, Paediatric Surgery, Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) in Gurgaon.
Aasim had been sick since his birth. Due to the blocked blood vessel, the oxygen concentration in his blood was mere 52 percent as against 100 percent resulting in his body turning blue. His condition was critical as his hemoglobin increased to an alarming level of 20 in response to hypoxia, a condition where tissues get deficient oxygen supply. Aasim’s family could not afford the cost of this complex treatment. After visits to many hospitals, Aasim’s family visited a health camp organized by Rotary Club of Delhi – East End. After the medical evaluation, Fortis Foundation, Radha Mohan Mehrotra Medical Relief Trust (RMMMRT) and Rotary Club of Delhi-East End stepped in to financially support the surgery under the Umeed Dhadkan Initiative. As many as, 20 children from Jammu & Kashmir, suffering from congenital heart defect, have already been treated under this programme.
Statistics of DRT repair are not available in India but it is estimated that only 5-6 such operations have been conducted in India by 1-2 surgeons.
‘Umeed Dhadkan’ is an initiative under Fortis Foundation’s Aanchal programme. It acknowledges that children should not be deprived an opportunity to lead a healthy life due to economic constraint. Under the Umeed-Dhadkan initiative, as many as 4341 children have been treated from different parts of the country.
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