Durban - Meet baby Smangaliso, the little bundle of joy born this week after having groundbreaking heart surgery while still in his mother’s womb.
Thandazile Ntetha, 29, from Shakaskraal on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, who has three other children, said she was still shocked by everything that had taken place during her pregnancy and was delighted the procedure and delivery had gone smoothly.
“Smangaliso is my miracle baby and I cannot wait to take him home. It was a challenging pregnancy but thanks to the excellent nurses and doctors, my baby has been saved. I am relieved that Smangaliso is in good health,” said Ntetha.
“I would like to thank the doctors, nurses and hospital staff who have been so caring and helpful during my time at the hospital.”
Smangaliso will be discharged from hospital on Monday after spending the week in the neo-natal ICU unit of Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital under the supervision of Dr Harshvadan Mackanjee.
Smangaliso made headlines in September when he had the operation. It had been detected that he had an extremely rare foetal cardiac condition in which a vascular malformation in the outer chamber of the heart was causing fluid to leak into the space around the heart.
The fluid would have been fatal if not detected.
Such a case is considered so rare it is found in one in 300 000 pregnancies. Only 22 other cases have been reported worldwide.
Baby Smangaliso was saved by Dr Ismail Bhorat, head of the hospital’s foetal unit, who performed a pericardiocentesis to extract the fluid.
The operation had never been performed in South Africa before.
A nurse at the Shakaskraal Clinic noticed an abnormality during Ntetha’s 29-week scan and she was referred to Bhorat and his team,
Dr Serantha Foolchand and Dr Samatha Boodhram were able to detect the cause of the abnormality and were part of the team that did the revolutionary surgery.
The operation entailed the insertion of a precisely directed needle into the pericardial space that allowed them to extract the fluid and relieve the compression of the heart.
The delicate procedure required intricate planning for the timing of the incision to be correct.
Baby Smangaliso was delivered by caesarean on Wednesday weighing 2.8kg, and he is a “normal and healthy” baby.
“It’s amazing to see how this little life has progressed. We are all so excited about this breakthrough and it is such a relief to see that Smangaliso is in a good health. He truly is a miracle baby,” said Bhorat.
Ntetha, who has spent the past two months in hospital, said she looked forward to returning home and to introducing her newborn baby to her family and friends.
Sunday Tribune