Two private hospitals here on 12 April announced successful cardiac procedures on one of the smallest babies and on the oldest patient in the country.

The hospital officials said its doctors have successfully performed a lifesaving cardiac intervention procedure on a 27-week preterm baby, who is one of the smallest babies in the country to undergo this procedure.

The procedure was done by cardiologists under the leadership of the Chairman & Director of cardiac sciences, and the Director of the Heart and Lung Transplant Programme at the hospital.

The 27-week preterm baby, weighing 750 grams, was struggling for life on a ventilator for almost one month since birth at the neonatal ICU (NICU) in Chennai. The baby had one large congenital heart defect called PDA which required closure for survival.

The doctors successfully conducted this procedure on the baby on March 24. The baby was shifted back to the NICU on the same day after the procedure. The infant's oxygen requirements are coming down and will be discharged once desired weight is achieved.

Speaking about the patient, the doctors said the baby was brought to hospital for further course of treatment after a one-month struggle at the neonatal ICU in Chennai. A special PDA device with new technology for this intervention closure was used considering the comorbidities for open surgery.

Usually, these techniques are commonly used in children with weights more than 2 kg, they said. Meanwhile, the other hospital said that its doctors successfully completed a robotics cardiac surgery on a 93-year-old patient.

Robotic cardiac surgery is a less invasive method that allows patients to return to their daily lives considerably more quickly than open-heart surgery. Speaking about the procedure, the consultant cardiothoracic surgeon said that minimally invasive cardiac surgery avoids sternal split and aids in quick recovery.

Robotic assist CABG is the least invasive cardiac surgery procedure available now. This surgery involves making tiny holes in the chest cavity through which the surgery is performed with the help of the Davinci Robotic system.