Belgian first: premature baby has a micropacemaker implanted
Worldwide, the procedure has been performed only about 50 times, and now, for the first time, it has been successfully carried out in Belgium. At University Hospital Saint-Luc in Brussels, a premature baby was implanted with a micropacemaker for the first time.
Doctors had diagnosed the foetus with an exceptionally slow heartbeat, caused by a severe heart defect. The medication administered through the umbilical cord from the 24th week of pregnancy to boost the heart rate did not appear to work as expected. The risk of heart failure, and consequently the baby’s death, could not be ruled out. The doctors decided to deliver the baby prematurely via caesarean section and, a few hours later, implant a custom micropacemaker. The operation was a great success. The infant is doing extremely well. He now has a normal heartbeat and was able to go home after just a few days in the intensive care and paediatric cardiology unit.
This medical first for our country paves the way for premature babies who may suffer from similar severe heart defects.