Trichy’s Maa Kauvery and Kauvery Heartcity Pioneer First-of-Its-Kind Percutaneous Cardiac Interventions for Newborns

• A 48-hour-old newborn weighing 2 kilograms, who was struggling with a serious heart condition (Critical Pulmonary Valve Stenosis), underwent the life-saving Balloon Pulmonary Valvuloplasty
• The Pediatric Cardiology team performed a keyhole procedure on the other newborn, just 11 days old, to insert a miniature device and seal an abnormal blood vessel in his heart (Patent Ductus Arteriosus)

Trichy, May 16, 2025:

Ushering in a new era of heart care for newborns in Trichy, Maa Kauvery and Kauvery Heartcity have successfully performed the city’s first-ever keyhole heart procedures on neonates . In two groundbreaking cases, a 48-hour-old, 2 kg baby girl with serious heart problems and low oxygen levels was treated with a special balloon procedure to widen the valve, while an 11-day-old, 1.5 kg baby girl with a heart condition that affects blood flow had a tiny device inserted to close the issue. The babies are responding well to the treatments and are now on their way to recovery.

Maa Kauvery, the women and children’s care division of Kauvery Hospital, offers comprehensive and specialised services in obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatrics. And Kauvery Hospital Heartcity is a world-class center of excellence dedicated to cardiology and cardiac surgery. Both these institutions, located in Trichy, belong to the renowned Kauvery Hospital group, a leading network of tertiary care hospitals in South India with over 1,200 beds.

In the case of the 48-hour-old baby weighing 2 kilograms, the child was struggling to get enough oxygen due to a serious heart condition where the valve connecting the heart to the lungs was severely narrowed (Critical Pulmonary Valve Stenosis). The baby underwent a life-saving procedure called Balloon Pulmonary Valvuloplasty, where a tiny balloon was used to gently open the valve and restore proper blood flow. The baby made a strong recovery and was discharged in good health by the fifth day of life.

As for the other baby, just 11 days old and weighing only 1.5 kilograms, the child faced persistent breathing difficulties and couldn’t be weaned off respiratory support (CPAP), even after medication. The underlying issue was an abnormal blood vessel in the heart that had failed to close after birth (Patent Ductus Arteriosus or PDA). The baby underwent a delicate keyhole procedure to place a miniature device, only 4×2 mm in size, known as the PICCOLO PDA device, to seal the opening. The baby’s breathing improved within 48 hours, and the child was discharged soon. Incidentally, this marks the first time such a procedure has been performed in Trichy, and likely the first in all of South Tamil Nadu.

Both the procedures were done using advanced, minimally invasive angiographic techniques done through blood vessels in the thigh  that required only small, precise openings through the skin, rather than traditional surgery.