New Delhi, April 25 : An 11-year-old girl from Africa, who had sickle cell disease, underwent a rare open heart surgery, doctors at a hospital here claimed Thursday.

Ayesha Sadiq was diagnosed with a disorder of the heart valve, which caused outflow of the blood from the right side to be obstructed. She also had sickle cell disease, a genetic disorder.

Sickle cell disease is a condition in which the haemoglobin in the blood is of an abnormal kind, resulting in a high tendency for blood to clot within the body under conditions of stress. This can lead to stroke, renal failure and even death.

The girl was operated upon by surgeons at the BLK Super Specialty Hospital.

According to Neeraj Bhalla, senior consultant, cardiologist, at BLK, though a procedure was carried out without any complications, the result was not too satisfactory. That is what compelled them to go for open heart surgery.

"Even after our continuous efforts, there was no decline of the obstruction across the valve. We realized that the child probably had major obstruction and might need open heart surgery," said Bhalla.

"The surgery was that much more risky as it carried a higher threat of blood clotting because of the sickle cell disease," he added.

According to doctors, the entire blood of the girl was changed prior to the surgery and the abnormal blood was drained.

"Open heart surgery then proceeded in routine fashion and recovery was uneventful," said Sushant Srivastava, cardiac surgeon at BLK. (IANS)