The Army Institute of Cardio Thoracic Sciences (AICTS) , a super speciality institute, recently performed life-saving surgery on the 14-day-old son of a serving soldier. The baby was detected with a slow heart rate and diagnosed with complete heart block.He was referred to a team of specialists at AICTS for further medical and surgical management. It was found to be a rare case of complete heart block, which occurs in one in 22,000 births and requires immediate surgical management if medical intervention fails, according to an official statement from the institute. Since medical intervention could not increase the heart rate, it was decided to provide mechanical stimulation to the heart by inserting a permanent pacemaker. The child was operated on by the doctors at AICTS and a permanent pacemaker was implanted in the upper abdominal wall of the child, which is connected to the heart through a lead positioned surgically on the surface of the heart by opening the chest wall. The baby has been discharged from the hospital and is in a stable condition.
