IMPHAL, July 5: For the first time in Manipur, Dr L Shyamkishore chief cardiologist of Sky Hospital has successfully conducted non-operative closure of holes in the heart on a 12 years old boy from Manipur and a 5 years old boy from Nagaland.
The 12 years old boy, son of Rajen and Kamala hails from Komong. As the family belongs to below poverty line, the operation was conducted at free of cost.
The holes in heart were fixed with an occlular device without opening heart surgery. This device closure does not require opening up of the chest and the heart, does not cause pain and scar on the chest when compared to open heart surgery for closure of such holes of the heart. After conducting non operative closure the patient may return home on the next day and may get to normal work within two days.
Dr L Shyamkishore announced that people who belong to below poverty line will be getting free non operative closure of holes in heart. To identify themselves they belong to below poverty line must bring BPL card given by district authority, income certificate and for the government employees who are in weaker section will be charging at the minimum cost.
He said that the inborn defect of having hole in heart must be treated at the early stage and keeping them prolong will be facing various problem in future life of that person.
Holes in the heart are a type of Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) where a person is born with a hole or several holes in the heart. The reported incidence of CHD is approximately 1 percent of all live births. Approximately 10 percent of present infant mortality in India may be accounted for by CHD and it believes that this incidence has not changed much over the years, he explained.
He further elaborated that nearly 2000 children are born with heart defect each year and nearly 33 percent to 50 percent of these defect require intervention in the first year of life itself.
If left untreated by either open surgery or device closure of these holes in the heart, approximately 25 percent of children die within the first year of life 40 percent by four years, 70 percent by 10 years and 95 percent by 40 years, he added.
He highlighted that children and adults with CHD can also develop a range of further problems such as problem in growth and development, repeated respiratory tract infection, infection of the sinuses, throat, airways or lungs, heart infection (endocarditis), pulmonary hypertension, heart failure.
General signs of Congenital Heart Disease are excessive sweating, extreme tiredness and fatigue, poor feeding, rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing, shortness of breath chest pain, blue tinge to the skin and clubbed fingernails, he said.