In a ground-breaking medical achievement, a multidisciplinary team of doctors at Rainbow Children’s Heart Institute, an exclusive pediatric heart centre has successfully performed a fetal balloon aortic valvuloplasty on a 27-week-old fetus, a life-saving intervention on a fetus diagnosed with critical aortic stenosis. What makes this feat unprecedented is that the puncture site was closed using a device, a pioneering approach that is believed to be the first of its kind globally.
The procedure was led by Dr. Koneti Nageswara Rao, Chief Pediatric Cardiologist, Dr. Shweta Bakhru, Pediatric Cardiologist, and Dr. Sri Phani Bhargavi Dhulipudi, Pediatric Cardiologist, alongside a multidisciplinary team comprising fetal medicine specialists, pediatric cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, and obstetricians, supported by state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure at Rainbow Children’s Heart Institute.
The procedure was carried out with the utmost precision on the fetus after advanced imaging revealed severe narrowing of the aortic valve, posing a threat to the baby’s heart function and overall survival. On this success, Dr. Koneti Nageswara Rao, Chief Pediatric Cardiologist, Rainbow Children’s Heart Institute, stated, “This achievement is a testament to our commitment to pushing the boundaries of fetal therapy.”
