Paediatric heart surgeries costing up to ₹20 lakh each at private hospitals performed free at NIMS Hyderabad
NIMS performed 19 complex heart surgeries in collaboration with Healing Little Hearts as part of fifth paediatric cardiac surgery camp
Children in Hyderabad benefited from free pediatric heart surgeries at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) during a week-long camp in September 2026. The surgeries, which can cost between ₹5 lakh and ₹20 lakh at private hospitals, were performed by the NIMS Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in collaboration with Healing Little Hearts.
Nineteen complex heart surgeries were carried out on children aged between two months and 13 years, led by specialist paediatric cardiac surgeon Ramana Dhanapuneni from the UK. Around 1,000 children were screened, with a few requiring minimally invasive intervention. The surgical team focused on complex congenital heart cases, with more than 100 children still awaiting surgery.
Dr. Amaresh Rao, Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery, highlighted the high cost of such procedures in private hospitals and the importance of public sector hospitals like NIMS. This was the fifth paediatric cardiac surgery camp conducted by the collaboration between Dr. Dhanapuneni’s team and NIMS, resulting in about 80 surgeries so far.
NIMS Director Rahul Devraj expressed hope for the partnership to continue twice a year. Additionally, NIMS introduced ECMO services under the Aarogyasri scheme for the first time, ensuring its availability to eligible patients free of cost for as long as medically required.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
