First-of-kind heart procedure gives Ulundi boy (10) a second chance
The family of a 10-year-old Ulundi boy says the child's been given a second chance thanks to doctors who performed the first-of-its-kind heart procedure to save his life.
Siyabonga Mthethwa was diagnosed with a severe heart condition.
His development was affected, and if he played longer than 10 minutes, he would suffer chest pains.
Siyabonga recently underwent a 10-hour operation at Durban's Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital.
This was the first time a public hospital in KZN had performed a procedure like this.
The boy's aunt says they had no choice but to go ahead with the surgery:
"When I got here after the operation, I was very emotional, but they empathised with me and supported me through everything.
One of the cardiac surgeons involved, Dr Sanvir Maharaj says little Siyabonga had a large hole in his heart and abnormal valves.
He says they managed to successfully close the hole in his heart.
They relied on technology that was used to treat Covid-19 patients who couldn't breathe on their own.
"When we were in the theatre, we were on the maximum amount of medication that we would administer to a patient. So of all that, the heart was not working, so he would not have come of theatre alive, so this machine was his only chance of surviving the operation."
KZN Health's Head of Department Sandile Tshabalala has praised the team of cardiothoracic surgeons for pulling off the procedure.
