Fight for life: Urgent heart ops needed for 400 Thai newborns a year

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Picture courtesy of Bangkok Post

 

By Bob Scott

 

Each year, a staggering 4,000 newborns in Thailand face a daunting diagnosis: congenital heart disease. According to the Department of Medical Services, this serious condition demands urgent attention, with 10% of these cases requiring immediate medical intervention to save tiny lives.

 

Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin reveals the gravity of the situation, noting that while some cases are flagged during pregnancy, a significant number are discovered only after birth. This condition affects eight out of every 1,000 births, a sobering statistic when you consider that over half a million babies are born in Thailand every year.

 

Among the afflicted, around 400 infants are hit with critical congenital heart disease (CCHD). Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), a particularly severe form, is a leading cause of infant mortality, accounting for approximately 250 cases annually that require surgical intervention.

 

Dr Taweesilp explains that as these young patients grow, many will need another surgery between the ages of 12 and 15 to replace damaged pulmonary valves.

 

Enter Percutaneous Pulmonary Valve Implantation (PPVI), a lifesaver offering a less invasive option that could reduce the need for repeated surgeries. But here’s the catch: this specialised treatment is still a rarity in Thailand due to its hefty price tag, ranging from 600,000 to 1 million baht per procedure.

 

 

Since 2013, the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health has been pushing boundaries by pioneering transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement treatments. As the first medical facility within the Ministry of Public Health to perform these breakthrough procedures, it has successfully treated over 100 children and adolescents so far.

 

Leading the charge is Akkarathan Jittanuyanon, the institute’s director, who proudly recalls a historic moment in 2015 when the institute broadcasted a live cardiac catheterisation from its state-of-the-art Hybrid Cardiac Catheterisation Room to the Congress of Congenital Heart Disease.

 

“From 2016 to 2017, we conducted live broadcasts five times.”

 

The institute’s growing global stature hasn’t gone unnoticed. In recognition of its contributions, the prestigious CSI Foundation invited the institute to host the CSI Asia Pacific event annually until 2024, a grand gathering drawing over 600 international participants.

 

The Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health has not only become a beacon of hope for heart patients but also a sought-after training hub, attracting foreign medical professionals keen to learn cutting-edge cardiac catheterisation techniques. Since 2013, it has fortified its reputation within the global paediatric cardiology community, putting Thailand firmly on the map as a leader in congenital heart defect treatment.

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2024-12-02