Boy with rare heart disease operated upon

NAGPUR: Doctors at Arneja Heart Institute (AHI) in city have given a 16-yearold boy a reprieve from atherosclerosis, a condition common in adults but extremely rare in children. Mukesh Bharti, a Standard XII student from Chhindwara, missed his board exams as he underwent a coronary bypass surgery.
But doctors say Mukesh will be able to lead a healthy life only after a liver transplant that could cost Rs 20 lakh or more.
The AHI team, however, is not giving up on him and is mounting a joint effort by specialist doctors across the country for surgery and money needed.
The condition, caused due to cholesterol deposition in blood vessels, is common in adults above the age of 45. It is extremely rare in children and young adults. In children, the cause is mostly genetic and is caused due a autosomal mutation on cholesterol metabolizing gene.
"The mutation results in liver failing to metabolize cholesterol that builds up to three or four times the normal level in blood. It begins to deposit in all blood vessels as well as other places like eyes and over joints. Available literature shows that in India it is probably third or fourth case to be diagnosed and operated by bypass surgery," said Dr Jaspal Arneja, who picked up the disease from the description of the symptoms in the boy.