Little Laraib Zahid was born naturally in in a government-run hospital in Pakistan’s Multan city earlier this month.
The tiny tot seems otherwise healthy – she breathes normally and is active – but doctors are baffled as to why her heart is not inside her body.
Her doctors have reassured her parents that her heart is functioning normally, but she urgently needs an operation to place it inside her body.
Mum, Shaista Zahida, 22, had a complication free birth and no one had predicted baby Laraib would be born with such a rare condition.
Dr Ibrahim Ansari said: “In my long career, I have never seen a newborn with such a rare condition.
“Except the heart being outside her chest, the baby looks normal. She breathes normally and is active.
“The baby may survive if paediatric surgeons can operate on her.”
After preliminary care, the baby was referred to Children Hospital in Lahore where doctors have diagnosed her with Ectopia Cardis – a malformation in which the heart in abnormally placed either partially, or entirely outside the chest.
WHAT IS ECTOPIA CARDIS?
Ectopia cardis is an extremely rare congenital abnormality, where the heart is located partially or entirely outside of the chest wall.
It is estimated to affect one in every 126,000 births, with girls slightly more likely to suffer it.
The condition is caused by a failure of the embryo to develop properly.
Due to how rare the condition is there are limited treatment options.
Successful surgeries have been performed, but the mortality rate remains high.
But whether, and when, surgery would be possible on the infant is not yet known.
Both Shaista and her husband, Zahid Baloch, 28, a taxi driver, are devastated with their firstborn’s condition and hoping for a miracle that could save her.
Baloch said: “The baby is in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital. She looks normal but we are worried what will happen to our baby as doctors have told us that treatment for such a condition is not available in Pakistan.”
Baloch has pleaded for help from the Pakistan government so that his baby can be taken outside the country for a surgery.
He added: “Doctors told me that treatment for such a condition will be available in any European country.
“I’m appealing the Pakistan and Punjab governments to help me.
“If the government wishes, my daughter can be operated in any foreign country and she can live a normal life.”
The condition can cause the heart to grow in a range of places including the neck, chest, or abdomen.
In most cases, the heart protrudes outside the chest through a split sternum.
It is so rare it only occurs in every five to seven babies per million births.
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