Doctors at the Apollo Children's hospital have performed a rare and complicated surgery to save the life of an eight-month-old pre-term boy child, born with a hole in the heart, with recurrent lung collapse and a cancerous tumour.

When a resident of Tambaram in Chennai delivered a pre-term boy baby, within eight months of conception, at the Apollo Children’s Hospital on November nine, 2018, little did she know that the baby would have to fight to stay alive. Baby Nethran was first diagnosed with a hole in the heart followed by sepsis, recurrent lung collapses, rare cancerous tumour in the liver and abnormal fusion of his skull bones. Dr Latha Kanchi Parthasarathy, Consultant Neonatologist, along with her team played a crucial role in Nethran’s care through an eight-month battle.

The child underwent a series of procedures and chemotherapy at the hospital throughout the treatment period. The child was first under the ventilator as his lungs were still in the development stage and also had a hole in the The lungs were very delicate and kept collapsing repeatedly. The baby also developed the first sepsis attack which was curtailed with anti-biotics. A routine ultrasound revealed an abnormal mass in the liver, which kept enlarging during the course of the treatment.