‘Miracle baby’ survives 12-hour heart surgery in India

A four-month-old baby in India has survived a 12-hour heart surgery and six heart attacks.

According to a news report, baby Vidisha, also known as ‘miracle baby’, had a heart defect which called for a surgery that lasted for 12 hours. The surgery took place in B J Wadia Hospital in Mumbai with parents Vishaka and Vinod Waghmare by her side.

“When she was 45 days old, Vidisha vomited after I fed her and fell unconscious. We shook her awake, but she again became unconscious,” Vishaka told the newspaper.

They rushed the baby to a local nursing home, where they were advised to take her to B J Wadia Hospital. Vidisha was diagnosed with a heart defect called transposition of the great arteries, in which connections to the big arteries called aorta and pulmonary artery are switched.

Opposite of a normal heart

“Basically, her heart’s anatomy was opposite of a normal heart,” explained Dr. Biswa Panda, paediatric cardiac surgeon of Wadia Hospital, who operated on her. Although the surgery improved her heart functions, her lungs remained weak, the report said.

“Correction for the transposition of the great arteries should be done immediately after birth. Else, like in Vidisha’s case, the poorly formed lung got used to a certain pattern and couldn’t adjust to the sudden correction,” said Dr. Panda.

Mr. and Mrs. Waghmare had difficulty paying the bill of the surgery, but was helped by various donors of the hospital.

“We toiled for three years to get a cardiac surgery department to help underprivileged children with heart disease. It feels good that our objective is being met,” B J Wadia Hospital CEO Dr. Minnie Bodhanwala told the newspaper.