What began as a family’s worst nightmare - a pregnancy overshadowed by fear and uncertainty, became a story of resilience, precision medicine, and human courage. At just 24 hours post his birth, the newborn arrived at Fortis Escorts, Okhla fighting for life. The baby’s heart was functioning fine, but lungs were getting congested and he was unable to get adequate oxygen into his body because of a rare, life threatening Congenital Heart Disease called Infradiaphragmatic Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection (TAPVC).
In this condition, oxygen-rich blood from the lungs fails to return to the heart normally and instead drains into the liver through an abnormal venous connection. This causes severe lung congestion, elevated pressure in the right side of the heart, and life-threatening respiratory distress soon after birth. Without immediate surgical treatment, survival is extremely difficult.
The newborn, born to a 33-year-old first-time mother, was diagnosed with rare cardiac anomaly while undergoing a routine antenatal ultrasound, during 6 month of her pregnancy which was later re-confirmed through a fetal echocardiogram. Both parents, who are doctors themselves, had travelled all the way from Patna, to get the surgery done.
They were counselled extensively about the high-risk nature of the condition and the urgent need for surgical correction immediately after birth. To ensure immediate access to specialized cardiac care, the delivery was strategically planned at a nearby hospital in Okhla, enabling swift transfer of the baby to Fortis Escorts Okhla immediately after birth. Soon after delivery, the newborn developed severe breathing difficulty and required respiratory support.
The newborn was admitted to the ICU, stabilized, and underwent an emergency echocardiographic evaluation to reconfirm the diagnosis. The child was evaluated by both a Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon and a Paediatric Cardiologist, requiring urgent intervention. The open-heart surgery, which lasted nearly four hours, involved rerouting the oxygenated blood flow back to the left side of the heart, the only definitive life-saving treatment for this condition. The highly complex surgery was successfully performed by a multidisciplinary pediatric cardiac team led by Dr. KS Iyer, Chairman & Head, Paediatric and Congenital
Heart Surgery and Dr. Ashutosh Marwah, Director, Paediatric Cardiology. Post the surgery, the baby showed excellent post-operative recovery and was discharged after 11 days in a stable condition.
Giving details of the case, Dr. KS Iyer, Chairman & Head, Paediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery, Fortis Escorts, Okhla said, “This was a highly critical cardiac emergency where every minute mattered. The biggest advantage in this case was early prenatal diagnosis and meticulous birth planning, which allowed us to intervene at the right time. Such conditions can be rapidly fatal if not treated immediately, but with timely surgery, these babies can go on to lead healthy lives.”
Dr. Parvathi Iyer, Pediatric cardiac intensivist, Fortis Escorts, Okhla said, “The baby was critically ill at the time of presentation and continued to remain unstable during the initial few days after surgery. We were able to gradually stabilize the child and successfully remove ventilator support on the fourth postoperative day. Throughout this difficult period, the father showed remarkable patience and resilience, meeting me every morning for counselling. He later shared that those conversations gave him hope and strength to keep going.”
Dr. Ashutosh Marwah, Director, Paediatric Cardiology, Fortis Escorts, Okhla said, “Fetal echocardiography plays a vital role in identifying complex congenital heart defects before birth. Early and Timely diagnosis gives us the opportunity to plan treatment, coordinate delivery, and optimize the outcomes. Whenever a critical heart disease gets diagnosed, it is better to deliver the baby close to the treatment facility, rather that transporting in an ambulance far off. This case underlines the importance of specialized prenatal cardiac screening in high-risk pregnancies.”
Expressing her gratitude, the child’s mother said, “Those weeks were the most difficult time for our family. Hearing about our baby’s condition was devastating, and we lived every day with fear and uncertainty. The doctors at Fortis Escorts Okhla gave us hope when we felt there was none. Seeing our baby survive such a critical procedure just hours after birth feels nothing short of a miracle for us. We will always remain grateful to the entire medical team who gave our child a second chance at life.”
Dr Vikram Aggarwal, Facility Director, Fortis Escorts, Okhla Road, New Delhi said, “This case is a powerful example of how advanced fetal diagnostics, seamless clinical coordination, and specialized tertiary care can come together to save a life at its most vulnerable stage. Managing such a rare and critical congenital heart condition within the first 24 hours of birth reflects the strength of our paediatric cardiac ecosystem and multidisciplinary expertise at Fortis Escorts. It also reinforces the importance of timely referral, planned delivery near specialized centres, and immediate intervention in improving outcomes for newborns with complex cardiac anomalies.”