PATNA: Pediatric cardiologist Krishna Kumar would perform 2D-Echo on children with complex congenital heart defect free of cost at Jeevak Heart Hospital here on Saturday.
City physicians and pediatricians have been urged to refer such children to Jeevak after 9am on April 30. After performing the 2D-Echo check, Dr Kumar would also give medical advice to the children, said Dr Ajit Pradhan of Jeevak.
Dr Pradhan, who is organizing secretary of the two-day pediatric cardiology and cardiac conference opening at a city hotel on Saturday, said there would also be a live telecast of an open heart surgery on a patient with complex congenital heart defect at Jeevak. The surgery would be jointly performed by Dr Pradhan and Dr Shiva Prakash K.
The third two-day pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery conference is being jointly organized by Pediatric Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery Society, Bihar in association with Indian Association of Pediatrics under the aegis of Pediatric Cardiac Society of India.
Besides Dr Kumar and Dr Prakash K, Dr Jigar Surti from Mumbai would attend the conference along with cardiologists, pediatricians and cardiac surgeons based in the state. The conference would highlight the magnitude of the problem of congenital heart disease.
According to Dr Pradhan, eight out of 1000 children are born with congenital heart disease. Of them, 75% need immediate surgical/non-surgical intervention as complex congenital heart disease is the single largest cause of mortality in the first year of life. But there are less than 30 cardiac surgeons capable of performing these complex surgeries in the country. The resources and facilities being limited, only few children get the treatment, Dr Pradhan told TOI.