Apollo Children's Hospitals in Chennai announced on October 6 a world-first milestone of completing 50 percutaneous Fontan procedures without prior surgical preparation. The achievement marks a major advance in minimally invasive care for children with congenital heart diseases.

Some children are born with complex heart defects in which only one ventricle can effectively support circulation. The Fontan procedure is the final stage of treatment for many of these children, redirecting blood from the lower half of the body directly to the lungs.

The technique, developed by Apollo's paediatric cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery teams, uses catheters, wires and stents through blood vessels to complete the Fontan pathway. It offers an alternative to conventional open-heart surgery for carefully selected children.

The procedure is performed under local anaesthesia, requires no ICU stay and allows a quicker return home, said Dr C.S. Muthukumaran, senior consultant and head of paediatric cardiology at the hospital. The first such procedure was performed in 2023.

Doctors cautioned that the approach is not suitable for every child and requires careful assessment of anatomy and blood flow. The aim is to reduce the burden of yet another major operation for children who have already undergone cardiac treatment.