After a health camp held in March babies Santhosh and Abheesha were chosen for free heart surgery under the Asiri Corporate Social responsibility programme.

Three-year-old Santhosh and Abheesha, whose parents are labourers were unable to afford the surgery. The children were both flown down from Jaffna by the army last week and are now at the Asiri Surgical Hospital. Dr. Vivek Gupta, Senior Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, who conducted both surgeries, said the babies were doing fine and that the hospital was looking forward to conducting more such heart operations. “Santhosh’s surgery was fairly straightforward, but for Abheesha it was more complicated because she is not only underweight but also needed two new chambers for her heart,” Dr. Gupta said. He said they would consult the cardiologists at the Jaffna hospital but would also visit him once a year.

Abheesha, whose father is a rehabilitated former LTTEer, has been in the hospital since she was four months old. Her mother Kartheepan said there was a big difference in her daughter after the surgery.

Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka