First Latin American Aortic Surgery Performed on 49-Day-Old Baby in Argentina

In a groundbreaking medical achievement for Latin America, a multidisciplinary team at the Hospital de Niños de la Santísima Trinidad in Córdoba, Argentina, has successfully corrected a severe aortic coarctation in a 49-day-old premature infant. The baby, weighing just 2.2 kilograms, was transferred from Chimbas, San Juan, for the complex procedure.

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This intervention was performed for the first time in Córdoba because the hospital has the technology and professional capacity necessary to carry it out.

Given the infant's delicate condition, young age, and low weight, the medical team opted for a hybrid strategy. The baby was first stabilized at the Hospital Materno Neonatal before being transferred to the Hospital de Niños for the intervention. Cardiovascular surgeons performed the initial surgical approach, opening the carotid artery, which allowed the Interventional Hemodynamics team to access and implant a stent directly into the aorta.

Dr. Alejandro Peirone, head of Cardiology at the Hospital de Niños and lead surgeon, explained that the hospital's advanced technology and professional capacity made this first-time procedure in Argentina possible. He emphasized that the provincial Ministry of Health provides the necessary resources to strengthen public healthcare, enabling the hospital to accept complex cases from across Argentina. Peirone also stressed that families without social security receive the same high standard of care as those with coverage.

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The provincial Ministry of Health provides the necessary tools to strengthen Córdoba's public health system. That's why we receive cases from different parts of Argentina.

The procedure involved implanting a 4x15 millimeter bioabsorbable stent, model IBS™ Angel. Unlike traditional metal stents, this device safely degrades within the body over approximately 12 months, allowing the artery to develop as the child grows. The infant's clinical evolution has been favorable, with a positive hemodynamic response observed after the successful stent placement, leading to the discontinuation of continuous medication.

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In situations of high complexity like this, a family without social security receives the same quality of care as one that does have coverage.