A baby boy born weighing just over 1lb is the world’s tiniest baby to have successful heart surgery.
The yet to be named baby was born at just 28 weeks at a government-owned hospital in Udaipur in the state of Rajasthan in India.
Measuring the length of a palm, the baby’s eyes, lungs and skin were undeveloped, leaving him too fragile to touch.
He was also suffering from a condition, known as Patent Ductus Arteriosus, where the two major blood vessels of the heart are connected, which led to him having breathing problems.
Still, at just two weeks old, doctors performed a milestone operation in an intensive care unit after he failed to respond to medication and was too delicate to be moved to a specialist centre.
Baby Miracle
The operation was particularly challenging as the baby was so weak he could not be touched.
Dr Jangid, said: “The baby weighed merely 470g (1.03lbs) at birth and was just the size of a palm.
‘Operating on an infant, especially when he is so tiny, is very challenging and risky as the body parts are extremely premature”.
Dr Sanjay Gandhi, who was also involved in the procedure, said: ‘There were many risks involved like respiratory distress syndrome, brain/lungs internal bleeding, feeding intolerance, developmental problems.’
Despite the risks, the doctors made the decision to operate in the hospital’s intensive care unit, as moving the baby could have been life threatening.
Special miniaturised surgical equipment was used and the baby survived against all the odds.
His father, known just as S P Jain, says his son’s survival is nothing short of a miracle.
He said: “He is so brave that he has survived so many odds with such low weight. Our prayers have been answered”.
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