A team at the Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH) has performed an arterial switch operation on a 1.7-kg premature baby, according to a press release issued by the hospital.The girl baby, one of the twins, was born at 33 weeks and diagnosed before birth with transposition of the great arteries (TGA), a congenital heart defect in which the major arteries are connected to the wrong chambers of the heart.Delivered by Caesarean section at KMCH, her oxygen saturation declined in the days following birth, necessitating surgery, the release said.The arterial switch operation involved reconnecting the major arteries and transferring the coronary arteries. It lasted about eight hours, including 233 minutes of cardiopulmonary bypass and 130 minutes of aortic cross-clamping.The hospital said the baby’s prematurity and low birth weight made the procedure challenging. As the parents could not afford the treatment, the hospital bore the entire cost, the release said.The baby is recovering well, taking feeds normally, and is expected to be discharged shortly, it said.The surgery was led by senior consultant paediatric cardiac surgeon K.S. Murthy, with a multidisciplinary team. Dr. Murthy said such procedures on babies with extremely low birth weight and prematurity were rare. Published - August 29, 2026 07:10 pm IST