Child born with heart outside body dies

HYDERABAD - A child born with his heart outside his body in Andhra Pradesh’s Kadapa district died at a hospital here Thursday, less than 24 hours after birth.

The baby boy whose heart was atop his chest died a few hours after he was shifted to Care Hospital here for corrective surgery.

Doctors said the child born with Ectopia Cordis, a condition where the heart develops outside the body. A team of doctors was preparing for the corrective surgery when he succumbed to his rare condition.

The doctors said the child was brought in a critical condition from Kadapa district, about 400 km from here. He was born Wednesday and was examined at Proddatur Government Hospital before being shifted to Hyderabad.

According to doctors one in 200,000 children are born with Ectopia Cordis due to genetic disorders but the diagnosis during pregnancy can help in treatment.