Two-day-old gets a new lease on life in Bangalore

When doctors delivered a diagnosis of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) even before Kavya was born, things weren’t looking good. Two days after her birth, however, she underwent a rare laproscopic surgery to sort out her complications and is now recovering well.

Jasna R was five months pregnant, in London, when doctors informed her of the CDH in London. The couple was told that though the delivery would be normal, the baby’s chances of survival hung in the balance. Jasna and her husband Ramakrishnan M chose to fly down to Bangalore to seek a second opinion.

“Back in London, we were told the survival rate of babies with such a condition was 26 per cent. We were even advised to terminate the pregnancy. We decided to consult doctors from The Cradle since we had heard of the hospital’s track record in dealing with such complications. Kavya was delivered in the hospital and two days later, was taken in for laproscopic surgery,” said Jasna.

The baby made a remarkable recovery thanks to neonatologists Dr Kishore Kumar and Dr Nandini. The baby was discharged 10 days after the surgery.  “Usually, babies end up staying in the hospital for over three to four weeks, but since Kavya was operated on using the laparoscopic method, the recovery was faster,” said the treating paediatric surgeon Dr S Ramesh.

Dr Kishore said: “A diaphragmatic hernia is a birth defect in which there is an abnormal opening in the diaphragm, the muscle that helps a person breathe. The opening allows part of the organs from the belly (stomach, spleen, liver, and intestines) to go up into the chest cavity near the lungs.”

CDH is seen in one out of every 2,200 to 5,000 live births. Most affect the left side. Having a parent or sibling with the condition slightly increases your risk.