4 children get new lease on life

A group of Chinese physicians yesterday successfully performed non-invasive procedures to correct the congenital heart defects in four children at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Hospital in Dhaka.

This was the first time this procedure was performed in Bangladesh, using an echocardiogram machine.

Practiced in more than 30 countries, the procedure, known as PAN, is an interventional therapy guided by ultrasound instead of X-ray, according to the World Health Organization.

Due to its lower reliance on complicated medical devices, the PAN procedure has gained popularity in underdeveloped countries that are medically underserved, according to medical experts.

Dr Xiangbin Pan, the Chief cardiac Surgeon of the Fu Wai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital, led the procedure on three children. Two other physicians from China assisted him while doctors of the pediatric cardiology department at the NICVD received hands-on training from them.

Dr Abdullah Shahriar, head of the pediatric cardiology department at the NICVD, performed the PAN procedure on the fourth child.

"This is undoubtedly a big leap towards making treatment for poor children with congenital heart defects accessible in our country," Dr Abdullah Shahriar told The Daily Star.

The Chinese team will come again after six months to train Bangladeshi doctors further, he said.

Earlier in the morning, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the NICVD and the Fu Wai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital in China.

NICVD Director Prof Mir Jamal Uddin; Duo Lin, chief of the International Cooperation Office at the Fu Wai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital; Dr Mohammad Ataul Huqq, professor of the pediatric cardiology at the NICVD; and Dr Nazmun Ummay Zakia, associate professor of the pediatric cardiology at the NICVD, among others, attended the event.