Beating Against All Odds: How Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Is Saving India’s Youngest Hearts

Across India, many newborns and infants face serious heart conditions within hours or days of birth. Advances in pediatric cardiology and neonatal care, however, are rewriting what once used to be bleak outcomes. With timely diagnosis, innovative procedures, and coordinated specialist care, children once considered too fragile now have the chance to recover, grow, and lead healthy lives.

Dr. Neville Solomon, Head of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Apollo Children’s Hospital, Chennai, shares all you need to know:

The Silent Burden of Congenital Heart Disease in India

Every year, 2.5 to 3 lakh children in India are born with congenital heart disease (CHD), a structural problem with the heart present from birth. This could mean a hole in the heart, blood

vessels connected in the wrong way, or valves that don’t form properly. Without treatment, nearly half of them do not survive their first birthday. The challenge is even greater in rural India, where specialized pediatric cardiology services are scarce.

But things are changing. With better antenatal (before birth) scans, more cases are now detected during pregnancy. Programs like the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), a Government of India initiative have enabled widespread screening of newborns and school-going children. This means conditions that would once have gone unnoticed until it was too late are now being picked up early.

Cardiologists across India also run peripheral outreach clinics, bringing diagnosis and follow-up care closer to small towns and villages. This steady, system-wide effort is making a difference. Fifteen years ago, a single screening camp would identify nearly 500 children with untreated CHD. Today, the number has dropped to around 10 per camp, a sign that the hidden backlog of undiagnosed cases is finally being addressed.

Stories That Prove What’s Possible

One newborn with coarctation of the aorta, a dangerously narrow major artery that limits blood flow to the body was rushed to the operating room within hours of birth. Without timely intervention, the child’s organs would have been starved of blood supply.

Another baby, just two hours after delivery, underwent complex open-heart surgery to correct obstructive total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC). In this condition, the pulmonary veins that should carry oxygen-rich blood to the left side of the heart connect to the right side instead, creating a blockage and leading to severe breathing distress. A complex surgery within hours gave that child a chance at life.

A premature baby weighing just 1.6 kg had transposition of the great arteries (TGA) where the major vessels carrying blood from the heart were switched. This caused blood to circulate the wrong way, oxygen-poor blood to the body, and oxygen-rich blood back to the lungs. A high-risk arterial switch operation was performed successfully, against all odds and the baby survived.

Perhaps the most gripping of the medical miracles was a two-month-old with Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery (ALCAPA), where the heart’s main pumping muscle was receiving blood from the wrong vessel. The baby collapsed at home with a heart attack. He required emergency surgery and 42 days of intensive support, including ECMO, a machine that temporarily takes over the function of the heart and lungs. A year later, he returned to the hospital for a follow-up, smiling and thriving, his heart completely recovered.

These extraordinary recoveries would not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of specialists like Dr. C.S. Muthukumaran and his team of expert pediatric cardiologists.

Healing Without Scars

Not every child with a heart defect needs open-heart surgery today, catheter-based interventions are transforming outcomes.

For a seven-year-old boy born with a single lung and one functioning heart chamber, instead of a risky second surgery, Dr. Muthukumaran’s team performed a pioneering percutaneous Fontan procedure, recreating the effect of surgery through a catheter without opening the chest. His oxygen levels rose instantly from 70% to 90%, the bluish tinge on his lips vanished, and for the first time, he could run, play, and laugh freely returning home with a new chance at life.

Medical Advances That Change Lives

In the last two decades, pediatric cardiac care in India has been transformed:

Catheter-based interventions now replace many traditional surgeries, allowing babies to go home within 24 hours.

Surgeons now focus on the most complex cases, once thought inoperable with excellent outcomes.

In adults with congenital heart disease, robotic and minimally invasive techniques are increasingly being used.

While pediatric transplants remain rare, they are available when all else fails.

And through it all, affordability has remained central. Nearly 65% of children treated at Apollo come from underprivileged families, supported by government schemes, NGOs, charitable organizations (including the Apollo Foundation’s SACHi initiative), and crowdfunding platforms.

A Future Full of Hope

The message for parents is clear: congenital heart disease is not a death sentence. With modern technology, expertise, and robust government and private healthcare systems working together, even the tiniest babies weighing less than 2 kg can survive complex heart surgeries with excellent long-term outcomes.

“Parents, do not be afraid,” says Dr. Neville Solomon. “Whether it’s a newborn just hours old or a child with a rare and complex condition, we can give them a chance at life.”

Behind every statistic is a story, a child’s second chance and a family’s heartbeat restored.