Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Howrah Celebrates Children’s Day in a unique way:
“Kids’ Carnival to spread the message of happy life after congenital heart surgery”
Children’s Day is celebrated across India to increase awareness of the rights, care and education of children. It is celebrated on 14 November every year on the birth anniversary of the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru also called ‘Chacha Nehru’.
On the occasion of Children’s Day, Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Howrah(is the third largest city in the Indian state of West Bengal after Kolkata & Asansol. It is also an important transportation hub of West Bengal and a major gateway for Kolkata.) in association with Rotary Club, Belur organized a Kids’ Carnival to spread the message of quality of life after heart surgery in children. They also shared a successful case study of 2 years old Nigerian baby girl suffering from ‘Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF)’ called as ‘Blue Babies’. The press conference was attended by Dr Debasis Das, Consultant Cardiac Surgery; Dr Amitabha Chattopadhyay, Consultant Pediatric Cardiology, Rakesh Bhatia, President Rotary Club, Belur; Ramesh Tiwary, Secretary Rotary Club, Belur and Subhasis Bhattacharya, Facility Director, NSH Howrah.
Most of the children after a successful heart surgery or intervention can lead a near normal life, play sports and go to school like normal kids. This was the idea to be showcased by inviting more than 100 children, who have undergone heart procedures here at NSH.
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The press conference was followed by Sports and amusement activities with 100 Pediatric patients at the hospital premises, who have undergone treatment at the Hospital. All the kids had enjoyed Sports like 40m Race, Sum Race 20m, Spoon Race 20m, Sack Race 20m divided in two categories Age of 6-10 & 10-18.
The Nigerian baby was diagnosed by a local hospital in Nigeria with “Tetralogy of fallot” which is in of the commonest causes of “Blue Babies”. Her parents were advised surgery but due to lack of facilities in their native country, they started to find help outside Nigeria. Thanks to social Media and help from Rotary International the child was admitted to Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Howrah. The Pediatric Cardiology team led by Dr. Amitabha Chattopadhyay dealt with the confirmation of the diagnosis and making the management plan and referred the baby for her heart surgery. The Cardiac Surgery team led by Dr. Debasis Das performed the operation, which is routinely done in NSH in very high numbers with world class results.
Dr Debasis Das, Consultant Cardiac Surgery said, “The Surgery was a routine for us what more challenging was that artery of the left lung was very small, another major challenge for us managing her ‘Sickle cell anemia trait’ which is endemic in Africa. Sickle cell anaemia is a genetically transmitted disease with high prevalence in Africa and these patients have a high proportion of abnormal hemoglobin “HBS” in their blood. We took care of it and she recovered well and discharged.”
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Subhasis Bhattacharya, Facility Director, Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Howrah, said, “We, at Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Howrah focused on providing a special treatment to the baby girl as her case was challenging. Thanks to the Superspeciality -disciplinary team of doctors, we are continuously taking up challenging advanced protocols, providing high-quality treatment with excellent success rates”.
“These patients are prone to develop clots and can suffer from stroke as well as damage to major organs like eyes, kidneys. Managing these patients on heart-lung machine during the surgery is challenging. I am glad our Cardiac Anaesthesia team along with our perfusionists did well to avoid any complications”, said Dr. Manish Sharma who along with Dr. Rangan Koley provided the anaethesia and critical care support for Miracle ‘s recovery.
The cardiac surgery and the pediatric cardiology department at NSH Howrah has successfully treated many children from Africa is last three years with Rotary International’s help. Miracle’s journey of hope is another feather in Team Cardiac Sciences’ cap at NSH, Howrah.
Mr. Ramesh Tiwary, Secretary, Rotary Club of Belur said “Rotary Club of Belur has various projects for helping the deprived section of the society. We have been helping heart patients from Nigeria and soon we are going to start with Afghanistan. We have a Tie-Up with Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Howrah. Rotary Club of Belur is committed to helping the poor with medical problems and will extend its sphere in the coming years.”
Pratyusha Mukherjee, Journalist, Kolkata
