A two-year-old girl has become the first recipient of an initiative at Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital to provide life-saving operations to children with PDA.
The condition occurs when there’s a hole in a child’s heart, that doesn’t close up.
Baby Thato is the first child to be helped by the Little Hero’s Initiative in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Children’s hospital.
On Monday, the two-year-old received the catheter-based procedure that involves making a small incision, typically in the groin, and inserting a small tube, to navigate through the blood vessels all the way to the heart and that’s when doctors can fix the hole.
“The procedure we’re doing has been around for some time,” said Professor Hopewell Ntsinjana from the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.
“It’s an innovative procedure where we are able to repair children’s heart condition without an open heart surgery, so without opening the chest, so we’re very proud of that.”
With technology, children born with severe heart problems are given a chance to live long and healthy lives.
On Tuesday, an eight-month-old baby also received the procedure.
Doctors say the operation reduces a child’s stay in hospital – and many are discharged a day or two later.
They hope with private donor funding, baby Thato will be one of just many to have this life-saving treatment.
#LittleHeros Doctors say this procedure doesn’t need an open heart surgery, but just an incision into the groin. The child can be discharged a day or two after the procedure. pic.twitter.com/CbXdKACiiW
— Tshego Moagi (@TshegoMoagi_) August 1, 2019
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Source: eNCA
