Baby Born With Heart Outside Her Chest

Pakistan: In a rare condition a new born is having her heart beating outside her chest. The little one was born at a government hospital in Pakistan’s Multan city.

Infants mother Shaista Zahida had no complication in her delivery and she was shocked to learn the birth defect of her new born. The baby, Laraib, has been put in Intensive Care Unit of the hospital. She has been diagnosed with Ectopia Cardis – a malformation in which the heart in abnormally placed either partially, or entirely outside the chest.

"I have never seen a newborn with such a rare condition in my long career. Except the heart being outside her chest, the baby looks normal. She breathes normally and is active. The baby may survive if pediatric surgeons can operate on her," said Dr Ibrahim Ansari.

Ansari told that the technology and expertise to treat the baby is not available in Pakistan. Shaista’s husband Zahid Baloch is a taxi driver. He has urged Pakistan government for help in saving their baby girl's life. The case with baby Laraib is very rare and is said to occur in every five to seven babies per million births.