Though hospitals remained the busiest places amid the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors at Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) in Gurugram achieved a new feat after they performed life-saving surgery on a 4-day-old child.

For our comprehensive coverage and latest updates on COVID-19 click here.

The doctors in a swift manner responded to an emergency case of a 4-day-old boy born with intestinal malrotation. "The birth took place in Rewari, on the outskirts of Gurugram, and as the health of the baby began deteriorating, the parents rushed to FMRI and were immediately attended to by Anand Sinha, Senior Consultant, Pediatric Surgery, FMRI and his team.

A thorough medical investigation was done and line of treatment recommended in a safe, infection-free environment at FMRI," said an FMRI statement. Intestinal malrotation is a congenital disease, where the intestines are not fixed properly inside the tummy and this leads to twisting of the bowel loops called Volvulus. It is a relatively rare condition seen in one in 6,000 newborns. "The baby was the first child of the parents and weighed 2.8 kg. The baby was presented with incidence of vomiting and was unable to take the mother's feed. After a complete medical evaluation and ultrasound, the patient underwent a laparotomy for correction of the deformity," Sinha said.

The case he added, was technically challenging as the baby was only 4-day-old and in such cases the possibility of movement by instruments for surgery requires mechanical skill and precision. Looking at the current pandemic, the surgery was performed taking extra protective measures in PPE's.