Patient: Gleb

Age: 6 months

Country: Moscow

Doctor: Dr K R Balakrishnan│ Director of Cardiac Sciences

Hospital: Fortis Malar Hospital Chennai

Baby Gleb had an unusual swelling in his abdomen for which he was diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy in Moscow however the cause of his condition was unknown. Gleb’s mother consulted several doctors in USA and Russia, but everyone told her to lose all hope.

But being a mother she was determined that her 6-month-old baby will survive. With hope in her heart, his mother consulted with doctors in India and eventually decided to come to Fortis Malar Hospital, Chennai.

Getting a heart transplant donor is very difficult, especially when the organ is required for a young child. It had become very complicated. The executives at the hospital ensured to update all the nearby hospitals about his case, to ensure if a donor is available it can be utilized.

Fortunately for the child, an update came from Manipal Hospital, Bangalore that the organs of a 2-year child are being donated. It was complicated to get the heart on time in the hospital, but somehow it was managed.

The transplant was performed, and now the baby is completely fine.“The transplant took about an hour. The lung pressure in the baby’s blood was very high. And the new heart was from a normal childwith a normal lung pressure, so the right ventricle of the baby shrunk,” said Dr K R Balakrishnan.

“So that’s why we waited in the operating room for 8 hours, for his right ventricle to work just enough to maintain the pressure of the normal system,” said Dr Suresh Rao KG the HOD of Cardiac Anesthesia and Critical Care at the Hospital.

“Six weeks after the surgery the baby was normal. He has gained weight, he was 7.5 kg at the time of surgery, and now he is almost 10 kgs” said Dr Balakrishnan.