KARACHI, Nov 5: With advancements in medical sciences, babies with heart defects have a better chance of survival.

This was stated by Dr Muneer Amanullah, consultant Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), speaking at a seminar on 'Management of birth defects of the heart in Pakistan,' held on Saturday.

He cautioned that congenital heart disease remained a major cause of medical complications and mortality. Explaining open heart surgery, Dr Amanullah said that it required the use of a heart and lung machine that temporarily took up these vital organs' workload during surgery. The risk factor in these procedures may vary from five to ten per cent, he added.

Dr Amanullah highlighted the two common heart defects: a hole in the heart, and tetralogy of fallot, which turned a child’s lip and nails colour to blue. Both defects are correctable by surgery. He said that in some defects, the heart had only one pumping chamber, and palliative operations were carried out to increase blood flow to the lungs or heart.

The long-term outlook for patients with a hole in the heart and “blue babies” is good with a near normal life span, he informed

The seminar was also addressed by Dr Mehnaz Atiq, associate professor and head of the Paediatric Cardiology Section, Department of Paediatrics at the AKUH.

Citing figures, she said that birth defects of the heart were common and over one hundred thousand babies with heart defects were born in Pakistan each year.

Four to five thousand among them have serious defects requiring urgent treatments, she added saying that while most defects are simple, requiring easy surgery, some are difficult with increased risk factors and a few require multi-staged surgery.

However, some defects may be corrected without surgery, by means of other devices. Certain serious defects such as severe coarctation of aorta, and transposition of great arteries need an operation in the newborn period itself, she said. Dr Atiq informed that all of the referred types of surgeries were available in Pakistan.—APP