AIIMS New Delhi Doctors Perform Rare Lung Sparing Surgery on 4 Month Old Baby

A four-month-old baby boy recently underwent a rare, lung-sparing keyhole surgery at AIIMS, New Delhi, to treat a congenital malformation affecting both of his lungs. The infant, who has become one of the youngest reported patients to undergo this specific type of procedure, recovered from the complex operation without any complications. He was discharged from the hospital within just two days of the surgery.

The surgical team at the premier hospital performed the highly demanding operation to address Congenital Pulmonary Airway Malformation (CPAM). The child had been diagnosed with this rare condition before his birth. CPAM causes a part of the lung to develop abnormally, which leads to the formation of cyst-like tissue that is unable to function normally.

While CPAM typically affects only one lung, this infant's condition was far more complex because the malformation involved both of his lungs. In many similar medical cases, the standard surgical approach is to remove an entire lung lobe. However, the doctors at AIIMS determined that removing a full lobe would significantly reduce the child's healthy lung tissue, which could have severely affected his long-term lung function.

Instead of the standard procedure, the surgical team chose to perform a far more challenging, lung-preserving segmentectomy. Using keyhole surgery techniques, the surgeons successfully removed only the diseased segments of the right lung while preserving the surrounding healthy tissue.

Doctors stated that this initial operation addressed only the affected portion of the right lung. Because the congenital malformation also involves the baby's left lung, the child will need to undergo a second surgery. This next operation is planned for the coming months, allowing the infant time for further growth and recovery before the next stage of treatment.