KARACHI: The National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Karachi, has discharged a 12-year-old boy from Khuzdar, Balochistan, after successfully performing a complex, life-saving cardiac surgery to remove a bullet lodged in his heart.
The child had sustained an accidental gunshot injury in Khuzdar and was initially taken to local hospitals. Due to the critical nature of his condition and complexity of the cardiac injury, he was subsequently shifted to Karachi for specialised treatment.
After being taken to different hospitals in Karachi, the boy was eventually brought to the Paediatric Emergency Department of NICVD Karachi in an extremely critical condition.
A multidisciplinary team at NICVD performed an approximately two-hour-long procedure to remove the bullet from his heart. The surgical team was led by Prof. Sohail Khan Bangash, Head of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery at NICVD, along with Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon Dr. Saad Badar.
Dr. Abdul Sattar, Paediatric Interventionist, Prof. Amin Khuwaja, Anaesthetist, and other members of the multidisciplinary medical team also played an important role in the successful procedure.
Prof. Sohail Khan Bangash said the child had arrived at NICVD in an extremely critical condition with the bullet lodged in his heart, requiring an immediate and highly coordinated medical response.
“After urgent assessment, we proceeded with emergency surgery, and the bullet was successfully removed. We are pleased that the child responded well to treatment, recovered satisfactorily and has now been discharged,” he said.
NICVD Executive Director Prof. Tahir Saghir appreciated the efforts of the medical, surgical, nursing and support teams for successfully managing the highly complex case.
He said NICVD remained committed to providing advanced and specialised cardiac care to patients from Sindh and across Pakistan. With the continued support of the Government of Sindh, he added, the institute had developed specialised expertise and state-of-the-art facilities to manage critical and complex cardiac cases.
The successful recovery and discharge of the 12-year-old marks another significant case handled by NICVD’s specialised paediatric cardiac services, which provide advanced cardiac care to patients from across the country.
