Under the procedure which was performed under the guidance of ultrasound, a needle was inserted in the heart of the foetus and then using a balloon catheter, the obstructed valve was unclogged," a senior doctor said. "The whole procedure had to be done very swiftly. It was very challenging. We managed to do it in around one-and-half minutes," the doctor said.
"With this reshaping procedure, hopefully the foetus' heart will develop better. Both the foetus and the mother are stable and are being monitored closely," the doctor added. The foetus's grape-sized heart was successfully repaired within the mother's womb by a team of local medical professionals from AIIMS.
According to hospital staff, the 28-year-old pregnant woman who had previously had three miscarriages was devastated to learn that the foetus in her womb had a cardiac problem. The mother decided to let the physicians do the treatment on the foetus' heart because she was determined to carry the pregnancy to term.
At AIIMS, a treatment known as balloon dilation was carried out on a heart valve that was clogged by a group of interventional cardiologists and medical professionals from the department of obstetrics and gynaecology.
Taking to his Twitter, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya praised this medical marvel and wrote, "I congratulate the team of doctors of @AIIMS_NewDelhi for performing successful rare procedure on grape size heart of a fetus in 90 seconds. My prayers for the well-being of the baby and the mother."
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(With inputs from PTI)
