Infant from Kenya successfully treated for PDA

A nine-month-old boy from Kenya got a new lease of life after being successfully treated for a congenital heart disorder called Large Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) in a city hospital.

Fred Omondi of Nairobi was brought to Sri Ramakrishna Hospital here ten days ago after being referred by a hospital in Kenya and diagnosed with large PDA, a hospital release said.

The baby was discharged today after the surgery, it said.

PDA is a condition in which the ductus arteriosus, a blood vessel that allows blood to go around the baby's lungs before birth, does not close. The word "patent" means open.
 

Soon after the infant is born and the lungs fill with air, the ductus arteriosus is not needed. It usually closes some days after birth. If the vessel doesn't close, it is referred to as PDA.