After 6-year wait, 6-year-old undergoes surgery at AIIMS Delhi

NEW DELHI: After waiting for almost his entire life of 6 years, Aayansh Kumar, a young ailing boy from Bihar, was finally operated upon for his heart disorder at AIIMS on Saturday. The little boy was detected with his cardiac ailment when he was 3 months old in 2018 but was not operated on, despite being given several dates, until TOI highlighted his and his family's plight earlier this month.
According to doctors, there was a hole in the child's heart, and he was also suffering from 'Tetralogy of Fallot', a congenital heart defect.This condition involves four related heart defects that change the way blood flows to the lungs and through the heart.
On June 19, National Human Rights Commission had taken suo motu cognisance of the TOI report on the boy.
The surgery was performed by Dr A K Bisoi.
On Friday, the boy underwent a CT angiography in the emergency department. This procedure was deemed necessary by the attending physician to obtain a more precise diagnosis, following an initial assessment that required further clarification, said doctors.
The boy's father, Ankit Kumar, a 32-year-old medical store helper, told TOI that his son was taken to the operating theatre at approximately 8.45am, and he was informed about the successful completion of the procedure around 3pm. The child has been shifted to the ICU for monitoring.
"The doctors informed me that the hole in the heart has been closed and the issue related to the veins has also been fixed. There were no complications during the surgery," Kumar stated.
He expressed hope that the next 24 hours would be uneventful and that his child's recovery would progress smoothly.
Ankit had earlier told TOI, "We brought Aayansh to AIIMS in Nov 2018, when he was just three months old. After seeing the child in OPD, Dr Sachin Talwar, professor of cardiothoracic & vascular surgery, had asked him to deposit Rs 60,000 for the surgery and Rs 8,000 for some tests and had given them an appointment for the operation four months later but despite completing all formalities the surgery was not performed."
With TOI reporting the issue and NHRC taking it up, the hospital administration stated that they promptly reached out to the patient's family upon discovering the postponement of the surgery. However, the family members were unable to arrive at the hospital immediately. They conveyed to the administration that they would be present on June 27.
AIIMS had conducted an inquiry to reveal the reasons for this unprecedented delay, but its findings have not been made public yet.