Q: My 3 month old son has been diagnosed with a complex CHD comprising of complex ASD and VSD, Double Outlet Rt. Venticle, Malposition of the great arteries and stenosis of the Pulmonary artery. I just want to know what is the prognosis after the corrective surgery to be performed on him. I understand that the surgery itself is high risk and I want to be mentally prepared for my sons post operative life. At present he is a normal baby with no outward problems except for occassional breathlessness. Which is the best hospital in India for Paediatric Cardiothoracic surgery.

A:As you have come to know, complex CHD such as your infant son's needs corrective surgery which has significant risk. Unfortunately the risk of not doing corrective surgery is greater. After successful corrective surgery, he can be expected to live a near-normal life even though he may not be able to equal normal school kids in physical activity or life expectancy. Nor can further surgery be ruled out. There are several hospitals which do excellent surgery for CHD. Examples are Narayana Hrudayala in Bangalore, Amritha Institute of Medical Sciences, Cochin and Madras Medical Mission, Chennai.