Post-Surgery Brain Development: National Seminar at Amrita

KOCHI:
Amrita Hospital, Kochi hosted a National Seminar on Enabling optimal Brain development in children after cardiac surgery, bringing together child development experts from across the country. The seminar stressed the need to look beyond survival and focus on how children grow, learn, and manage everyday life. Experts highlighted that children with CHD often demonstrate a distinct neurodevelopmental signature, where difficulties are seen in specific areas such as attention, executive functioning, and adaptive skills, often becoming more evident as the child grows.

The event, held on March 28 under the aegis of ‘Project Medha’ of the Department of Pediatric Cardiology, was inaugurated by Dr. D.M. Vasudevan, Dean of Research, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. Speakers including Dr. Kirsten Verity (Royal Hospital for Sick Children, UK), Dr. Deepa Bhaskaran (Director, CDC, Trivandrum) and Dr. Arun Singh, Former National Advisor to RBSK (Government of India) and Dr. Jayasankara Reddy (Dean, School of Social Sciences, Christ University), emphasized the importance of focusing on key areas such as learning, executive skills, and adaptive behaviour, along with the need for early assessment and regular follow-up.

The seminar was conducted as part of Project Medha, a CSR-supported initiative by Premji Invest, aimed at strengthening neurodevelopmental care and outcomes in children with CHD . The discussions highlighted the importance of working toward making neurodevelopmental assessment a standard practice embedded within the continuum of cardiac care.

The initiative was led by Dr. R. Krishna Kumar, H.O.D Department of Pediatric Cardiology and Dr. Manu Raj, Senior Consultant Department of Pediatrics and conceptualization support by Ms. Sonam Manoj, National Coordinator- Project Medha through the Neurodevelopmental & Cognitive Care Unit. The seminar is among the first of its kind in India, aiming to improve care and guide future practices so that children with heart conditions not only survive, but also thrive in their daily lives.