Reaching out to poor children requiring lifesaving heart surgery

The Department of Pediatric Cardiology and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery of Apollo Children's Hospital, Chennai today announced the partnership with Rotary Club of Madras East to reach out to poor children requiring lifesaving heart surgery. Of every 1000 babies born, 8 are born with congenital heart disease. In India, on an average, 2.5 lakh children are born annually with heart disease. About half will perish before the first birthday if they do not have access to timely surgery and intervention.

The pediatric cardiac program caters to children with heart disease of all socioeconomic classes. The program is run with the help of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Comprehensive  Health Scheme, donations from the Save a Child's Heart Initiative (SACHI Trust) run by Apollo Hospital, crowdfunding platforms and the kindness, dedication and magnanimity of Rotarians like those belonging to Rotary Club of Madras East (RCME) and the generosity and unlimited support from the Apollo top-management.  The joint program between Apollo Children's Hospital and RCME will be officially launched on July 5, 2021 with an initial target of helping atleast 500 poor children over a period of 1 year.

The Department of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery is headed by Dr Neville Solomon and run along with his consultants, Dr P Balaraman and Dr V Swaminathan. They have performed over 5000  pediatric cardiac operations over a decade with an amazing success rate.  A team-based multidisciplinary approach has contributed to the success of the program. All members of the team involved in the care of the patients are exceptionally trained in the field of Pediatric Cardiac including our anaesthetists, Drs Rajagopal and Hemalatha, Intensivists, Dr Suchitra and team, and a brilliant team of perfusionists, nurses and paramedical staff. A dedicated Catheterization Laboratory and Operating Room and Intensive Care Unit  in an exclusive children's hospital contributes to incredible outcomes even with the most complex cases. New-born babies just a few hours old and weighing only 1.2 kgs have been successfully operated on and sent home,  even those born with the most complex of conditions. We offer the entire gamut of Pediatric Cardiac Services from complex neonatal cardiac surgeries, valve repairs, heart failure, ECMO and transplant all under one roof.

The Department of Pediatric Interventional Cardiology is headed by Dr CS Muthukumaran and run along with Dr Anuradha, whose special interest is also Heart failure/transplantation. The interventional department has done more than 10000 complex interventions in children. Babies as low as 1.2 kg have had interventional procedures successfully.

Rtn. Srinivasa Rao, President RCME, says “Healing Tiny Hearts project aligns very well with RCME’s plans for the year. We are extremely happy to partner with Apollo Hospitals and their Pediatric Cardiac Surgery team to provide the best in class care for 500 economically underprivileged children in dire medical need.” The Healing Tiny Hearts Project is an initiative by RCME to support 500 pediatric cardiac surgeries or interventions to correct congenital heart defects. The procedures will be done by the Apollo Team who have an impressive track record in this field.