The study interviewed parents of 405 children aged up to 12 years who had been advised to undergo elective pediatric cardiac surgery at AIIMS. When their status was reviewed after a year, doctors found 44 per cent (59/134) of the girls had undergone surgery against 70 per cent (189/271) of boys.
The study estimates that for every 70 boys who undergo an operation for congenital heart defect, only 22 girls undergo the surgery.
A post-operative scar on the chest of the child was perceived as a problem for the parents of 62 per cent of girls (83/134) as compared with only 6 per cent of boys (16/271). Around 65 per cent of parents of girls feared that this will dampen the matrimonial prospect of their child.
The economic class of the parents was also an important factor. More than 80 per cent of children in the upper and upper-middle classes had undergone surgery, as compared with less than 60 per cent of patients in the lower-middle and upper-lower classes.
Similarly, low educational level of the head of the household was associated with poorer compliance with surgery. Also, younger children in the family had lower probability of having the surgery.
In India, around 1.8 lakh children are born with congenital heart disease (CHD) each year, of whom 60,000-90,000 require early intervention. However, the actual number of children undergoing surgery is far lower.
