Pakistan gets new hope for children born with heart disease as Indus achieves historic surgery milestone

KARACHI: For thousands of Pakistani families, a child born with congenital heart disease often means entering a painful race against time — one shaped by expensive surgeries, limited specialists, and exhausting waiting lists that many cannot survive.

Now, a major breakthrough at Indus Hospital & Health Network is offering something many parents have long struggled to find: realistic hope.

In what is being viewed as a landmark achievement for Pakistan’s healthcare sector, Indus University Hospital has successfully performed its first pediatric open-heart surgery under its Congenital Heart Services programme, opening a major new chapter in advanced cardiac care for children — completely free of cost.

The operation represents far more than a single medical success. Healthcare experts say it addresses one of the country’s most difficult healthcare gaps: access to highly specialized pediatric cardiac surgery for children born with complex heart defects.

The complex procedure was led by Dr. Zubair Ahmed Barohi, Consultant Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, alongside Dr. Arjumand Shauq, Pediatric Cardiologist and Head of Department, with support from a multidisciplinary team comprising cardiac surgeons, anesthetists, ICU specialists, operating theatre staff, technicians, and perfusionists.

Congenital heart disease remains among the leading causes of serious childhood illness globally, yet access to pediatric cardiac surgery in Pakistan remains extremely limited.

While Indus Hospital has long provided minimally invasive cardiac interventions, hospital officials noted that such procedures could only benefit around 30 percent of congenital heart disease patients. A significant number of critically ill children still required advanced open-heart surgery and were often referred elsewhere for treatment.

For many families, that referral process meant facing overwhelming private-sector costs or waiting months — sometimes years — for surgery at overloaded public hospitals.

By bringing pediatric open-heart surgery services in-house, Indus Hospital has now bridged a major treatment gap for vulnerable children who previously had limited options.

Medical experts describe pediatric open-heart surgery as one of the most technically demanding procedures in modern medicine, requiring seamless coordination between cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, anesthetists, intensive care teams, operating theatre staff, and perfusionists who manage circulation and body temperature throughout surgery.

Hospital officials say these procedures carry success rates approaching 98 percent globally and often provide lifelong correction for congenital heart defects.

A growing need across Pakistan

The importance of this development extends far beyond Karachi.

As one of Pakistan’s largest referral hubs for specialized healthcare, Karachi receives patients from across Sindh, Balochistan, interior Pakistan, and underserved regions where pediatric cardiac surgery facilities remain scarce.

Yet experts say access to comprehensive pediatric heart surgery continues to lag behind demand. Only a limited number of surgeons in Sindh currently perform these highly specialized procedures, while many hospitals lack complete pediatric cardiac surgery programmes altogether.

Public hospitals frequently face waiting lists extending from one to two years — delays that can significantly worsen outcomes for children requiring urgent intervention.

Leadership calls it beginning of a larger mission

Prof. Dr. Syed Zafar Zaidi, Chief Executive Officer of Indus Hospital & Health Network, said the achievement reflects a long-term commitment to building sustainable systems for advanced healthcare delivery. He said:

“This milestone is not just about one successful surgery — it is about building a system that can consistently deliver complex, life-saving care at scale. By investing in infrastructure, technology, and people, we are laying the foundation for a sustainable cardiac program that will significantly improve access and outcomes for children across Pakistan.”

Dr. Abdul Bari Khan, President of Indus Hospital & Health Network, described the moment as deeply emotional for the institution. He said:

“Alhamdulillah, today marks a deeply emotional moment for all of us at Indus. For years, we have witnessed families struggle to find access to life-saving heart surgeries for their children. Today, we pray that this step becomes a source of hope for countless parents and a means of saving many precious lives.”

What comes next

Building on this success, hospital officials say Indus plans to expand into more advanced and complex pediatric cardiac procedures in the near future.

For families of children living with congenital heart disease, that expansion could become life-changing.

Because beyond the surgery itself, this achievement sends a much larger message across Pakistan’s healthcare landscape: world-class pediatric cardiac care is becoming increasingly possible locally — and without financial discrimination.

And for many parents still searching desperately for treatment, that may be the most important breakthrough of all.

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