A five-year-old diagnosed with a structural heart problem has recently undergone a rare procedure to replace the aortic valve with his own pulmonary valve. Soham Wagmare, who was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect (CHD) in 2014, was not able to undergo a surgery due to financial issues and lack of medical advice.
In 2017, he was suffering from dengue and his condition worsened. While his family visited SL Raheja Hospital, Mahim, for cardiac evaluation, it was revealed that Soham had Bicuspid Aortic Valve (BAV), a condition that results in the formation of two leaflets or cusps instead of normal three, with aortic regurgitation or leakage.
BAV, a hereditary condition, occurs in only two per cent of the population. Being a hereditary condition, Soham's father Sharad Waghmare, a field worker, was also been detected with the condition recently during his son's treatment. Sharad's condition in all likelihood has been passed on to Soham.
Speaking about Soham's case, Dr Vijay Agarwal, Director — Head, Pediatric Cardiac and Transplant Surgery, SL Raheja Hospital, said: "We decided to perform ROSS procedure on Soham, as for children of this age, a suitably sized valve is not readily available. As the patient's own pulmonary valve is used to replace the diseased valve, there is no rejection and it helps the body to respond swifter, as against implanting a foreign object."
Dr Agarwal added: "Soham was suffering from a severe bout of fever that made it a high-risk case. We had to wait for his fever to subside, post which we operated on him. Since he was on the verge of heart failure, surgery was the need of the hour. The team constantly monitored Soham's breathing, ventilator support, and heart function."
HEALTH CHECK
- Severe risks like developing heart failure, swelling of the feet, breathless bouts, infection of the valves, pneumonia, and swelling of the body are a sign of the heart function getting weaker
- Most babies with this condition have no symptoms, and the problem is not diagnosed until they are adults.
