The Hindu Business Line : Correcting cardiac problems in the womb itself

In an innovation that could make the lives of several thousands of children easier, doctors have started exploring ways to reach out the foetus to correct anomalies, if any.

Though there have been several theories in the medical world on foetal intervention to tackle cardiac problems, it is relatively a recent phenomenon in some Western countries, including in the US, to undertake such astonishing voyages into the womb.

“If you can correct one anomaly, you can perhaps correct more problems when the child comes out,” Dr Stanton Bruce Perry, Director of Paediatric Intensivist at Stanford University of the US, told Business Line.

Dr Bruce Perry, who is among the few doctors who are making efforts in this realm, was here to attend an international conference to discuss latest challenges and solutions in the area of paediatric cardiology. “We will reach the foetal heart through a needle through the womb and send a balloon and correct the anomalies of a certain kind,” he explained.

Currently, the doctors are able to attend the defective hearts up to 20-25 week-old foetus. “We wish we can reach it still earlier,” he added.

He also related the image-guided heart surgery for children. The device, as small as the head of a small nail (2-3 mm), would take images using sounds. “This will play a very useful role in complex paediatric heart surgeries,” he said. Dr K.S. Murthy, Chairman and Managing Director of Innova Children’s Heart Hospital, said these images would help the doctors in correcting the residual defects after the surgery and before separating the heart-lung machine. “This will make the post-operative issues much easier,” he said. “Thanks to the imaging technologies, we can now verify the completeness and accuracy of the intra-cardiac repair,” he added.

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