PESHAWAR: Heart specialists at the public-sector Peshawar Institute of Cardiology have saved the lives of 14 children, including two Afghans, through the first-ever modern Fontan and Rastelli surgeries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Riffat Anjum, spokesperson for the PIC, told Dawn that the complex lifesaving Fontan and Rastelli surgeries were performed in collaboration with the Pakistan Children’s Heart Foundation and a team of paediatric surgeons from Vietnam.
“The surgeries were carried out during a five-day specialised training workshop,” she said.
Prof Ijaz Hussain, head of the paediatric cardiology section at PIC, told Dawn that the Fontan operation was performed on “blue babies” with a large hole in the heart.
Vietnamese surgeons collaborated for the initiative
“In order to prevent blue blood from being pumped to the body, it is directed to the lungs with the help of a special tube, bypassing the heart,” he said.
According to the expert, Rastelli is surgery which is also done in “blue babies” with missing or narrow valves of lung arteries and a hole in the heart.
“The hole is closed and the lung artery valve is replaced by a specialised tube with a valve. The baby’s blue discoloration disappears after both surgeries,” he said.
Prof Ijaz said that around Rs1 million worth of procedures were done with material provided by PCHF Lahore and partially covered by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s Sehat Card Plus health insurance programme.
“These operations save the lives of children up to 18 years. Now, we will be doing these cases on a regular basis. Children will undergo some tests ahead of surgeries,” a cardiac surgeon said.
He said the procedures had already been performed in major cities of the country like Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
“This collaboration [with paediatric surgeons from Vietnam] not only gave new life to children but also introduced advanced surgeries that will greatly improve the quality of life for children suffering from congenital heart defects, especially those living with cyanosis [blue baby syndrome],” he said.
Prof Ijaz said the effort was meant to strengthen paediatric cardiac care in Pakistan and provide doctors with opportunities to work with international experts.
Vietnamese paediatric surgeon Prof Cao Dang Khang said his countrymen loved the people of Pakistan and this joint effort was a tell-tale example of cooperation in providing advanced healthcare facilities to children.
“Together, our countries can do much more to restore the health of underprivileged children,” he said.
Another paediatric cardiac surgeon at the PIC, Assistant Professor Dr Mujeebur Rehman Dawar, said the partnership marked an important milestone.
“It will sharpen the skills of our young surgeons and build their confidence to manage complex cases independently in the future,” he said.
Experts from University Medical Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Prof Cao Dang Khang, Dr Hoang Quoc Trung and Dr Le Hoang Anh said they would continue to work jointly with Pakistani surgeons and benefit children through advanced surgeries.
Established in 2012, the PCHF provides full or partial financial support for life-saving heart surgeries of deserving children in Pakistan suffering from congenital heart diseases. Since then, it has helped 5,345 children with the spending of Rs2.637 billion collected through charity.
Prof Shahkar Ahmad Shah, the dean at PIC, said that a fortnight ago, 14 transcatheter aortic valve implantation procedures in a day were performed at the institute, breaking the world record of 13 such operations carried out in Serbia.
He said since the establishment of the 313-bed facility in 2020, the institute had continued to introduce innovative procedures to benefit the people.
Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2025
