Kenyatta National Hospital has successfully conducted a four hour highly delicate and complicated Tetralogy repair surgery on a 2-year-old baby.
The surgery was conducted by a multidisciplinary team of medical specialists from KNH led by Naomi Gachara, a Pediatric Cardiologist.
According to KNH Chief Executive Evanson Kamuri, Carson Micky was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot at birth in 2018.
In a statement on Monday, Kamuri said Tetralogy of Fallot at birth is a rare condition caused by a combination of four heart defects that are present at birth which limits blood flow out of the heart and into the rest of the body.
“It is a birth defect that affects normal blood flow through the heart, leading to bluish-looking skin colour because their blood does not carry enough oxygen,” Kamuri said in a tweet.
According to KNH, the Tetralogy of Fallot at birth occurs when a baby’s heart doesn’t form correctly as it grows and develops in the mother’s womb during pregnancy.
“Two weeks after the diagnosis, doctors from the Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital referred baby Carson to KNH for specialized treatment. He was admitted on January 10, 2022, with the surgery being conducted on January 18, 2022,” Kamuri said.
“Unfortunately, Carson developed complications after the operation which necessitated a multidisciplinary team of specialists like intensivists (medical personnel specially trained to look after very sick patients round the clock), among others to take care of him,”
KNH is the only hospital in the public sector that has the capacity both in personnel expertise and supporting infrastructure to carry out highly delicate successful surgeries.
As such, there are several patients on the waiting list.
Kamuri said KNH attends to 3-4 patients per week against the reported cases in need of specialized surgery. In such cases as for Carson, it limits the number of surgeries since it requires involving care and a long duration of time.
“Carson has been given a clean bill of health and is expected to live an active, healthy life as well as attend regular follow-up visits to monitor progress,” the CEO said.
