Mangaluru: Shalini (Name Changed) a three year old girl was having difficulty playing with her friends. She used to get tired easily. She also had a lot of pain in both her legs after any activity. She was brought to A.J. hospital for the above complaints.
Dr. Prem Alva, Consultant Pediatric Cardiologist did a heart scan and found that she had two heart diseases from birth. There was a medium sized hole in the centre of the heart called Ventricular Septal Defect. She was also found to have blockage of the blood vessel going to the lower part of the body called Coarctation of Aorta. This caused the pulse in the legs to be very feeble. The parents were devastated on finding out their little daughter had two heart diseases. It was decided to treat this rare condition without surgery.
She was taken to the cath lab where Dr. Prem Alva did a procedure to put a button (device) in the heart to close the hole in the heart. Following this in the same sitting the block in the blood vessel was opened using balloon dilatation called Coarctoplasty. The procedure went on successfully and there was no complication. Little Shalini was discharged within two days of the procedure. She can play now with her friends and lead a normal life. Dr. Gururaj Tantry provided Anaesthesia during the procedure. The treatment is given free of cost through healthcare scheme funded by Govt of Karnataka.
A.J. Hospital & Research Centre is the only Centre in Dakshina Kannada to have full-fledged Pediatric Cardiology Department with full time Consultant Pediatric Cardiologist.
