In Lviv, surgeons successfully saved a newborn boy with a rare heart defect by performing one of the most complex surgeries in medicine – the Norwood operation.

The procedure lasted seven hours, as reported by the First Medical Association of Lviv.

The boy's parents learned about his heart condition during a routine prenatal screening, when ultrasound specialists noticed that the child's heart was developing incorrectly.

To confirm the diagnosis, the pregnant woman was referred to the pediatric cardiology department of St. Nicholas Hospital.

"Our specialists discovered that the unborn baby had a left heart hypoplasia syndrome, which is the most severe of all congenital defects, where the left side of the heart is underdeveloped and unable to pump oxygenated blood to vital organs.

Without surgery, children with this condition do not survive after birth. Therefore, the only way to save the baby was through complex cardiac surgery," the medical facility explained.

The baby was born at 41 weeks of gestation. He was cared for in the intensive care unit for six days, and on the seventh day, he was operated on by the head of the cardiothoracic department, Alexander Yachnik.

"Together with his team, he performed the Norwood operation on Nestor – one of the most complicated procedures in pediatric cardiology.

During this operation, which is performed almost immediately after birth, cardiothoracic surgeons must ensure that the right side of the heart takes over the function of the left and maintains the overall circulation in the body," the hospital reported.

This extremely complex procedure lasted seven hours and was successful. However, Nestor will face further stages of Norwood surgery in the future to fully correct the congenital defect.

Previously, we reported another rescue story where doctors in Lviv performed surgery on a one-year-old child with a rare disease – laryngeal papillomatosis. Due to this illness, the girl could not speak or breathe freely.