Our Baby Had TGA" — How We Got the Arterial Switch Operation Done in India from Iraq

A family from Iraq got their TGA baby's arterial switch operation done in India in 10 days. Visa in 36 hours, cost USD 7,200 all-in, child thriving one year later.

By Gaf Healthcare Editorial Team

2026-05-17

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<h1>"Our Baby Had TGA" — How We Got the Arterial Switch Operation Done in India from Iraq</h1>

<div class="meta"> <span>Published May 2026</span><span class="sep">·</span> <span>12 min read</span><span class="sep">·</span> <span>By GAF Healthcare Editorial Team</span><span class="sep">·</span> <span class="tag-story">Patient Story</span> <span class="tag">Iraq · India</span> <span class="tag">TGA Surgery</span> </div>

<figure role="img" aria-label="Journey map graphic showing a family's path from Baghdad Iraq to a neonatal cardiac ICU in New Delhi India — TGA diagnosed at 4 days old, medical visa approved in 36 hours, arterial switch operation performed successfully by Dr. Krishna S. Iyer at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute New Delhi, child discharged and returned home to Iraq 38 days later, now thriving one year post-surgery — illustrating that international TGA surgery from Iraq to India is logistically achievable within the critical two-week surgical window" style="margin:0 0 10px"> <svg viewBox="0 0 780 280" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" style="width:100%;height:auto;display:block;border-radius:10px" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"> <defs> <linearGradient id="bgC2" x1="0%" y1="0%" x2="100%" y2="100%"> <stop offset="0%" style="stop-color:#eaf4ef"/><stop offset="100%" style="stop-color:#f5f2ec"/> </linearGradient> <marker id="arr2" markerWidth="8" markerHeight="8" refX="6" refY="3" orient="auto"> <path d="M0,0 L0,6 L8,3 z" fill="#b5d9c5"/> </marker> </defs> <rect width="780" height="280" rx="10" fill="url(#bgC2)"/> <circle cx="700" cy="30" r="80" fill="#1e5c3a" opacity=".05"/>

<text x="390" y="34" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="14" font-weight="700" fill="#1a1a18">Baghdad → Bangalore: one family's journey from TGA diagnosis to discharge</text>

<line x1="70" y1="110" x2="710" y2="110" stroke="#b5d9c5" stroke-width="2" stroke-dasharray="6,4"/>

<circle cx="70" cy="110" r="20" fill="#b83a2a"/> <text x="70" y="104" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="9" fill="#fff" font-weight="700">🇮🇶</text> <text x="70" y="117" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="8" fill="#fff">IRAQ</text> <text x="70" y="140" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="11" fill="#1a1a18" font-weight="700">Day 1</text> <text x="70" y="155" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#6b6b62">TGA diagnosed</text> <text x="70" y="168" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#6b6b62">Baghdad NICU</text>

<circle cx="185" cy="110" r="14" fill="#1e5c3a"/> <text x="185" y="114" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#fff" font-weight="700">2</text> <text x="185" y="140" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="11" fill="#1a1a18" font-weight="700">Day 2</text> <text x="185" y="155" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#6b6b62">Echo sent to</text> <text x="185" y="168" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#6b6b62">GAF Healthcare</text>

<circle cx="310" cy="110" r="14" fill="#1e5c3a"/> <text x="310" y="114" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#fff" font-weight="700">3</text> <text x="310" y="140" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="11" fill="#1a1a18" font-weight="700">Day 4</text> <text x="310" y="155" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#6b6b62">Medical visa</text> <text x="310" y="168" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#2d6e4e">approved 36hrs</text>

<circle cx="435" cy="110" r="14" fill="#1e5c3a"/> <text x="435" y="114" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#fff" font-weight="700">4</text> <text x="435" y="140" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="11" fill="#1a1a18" font-weight="700">Day 7</text> <text x="435" y="155" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#6b6b62">Flight Baghdad</text> <text x="435" y="168" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#6b6b62">→ New Delhi</text>

<circle cx="560" cy="110" r="14" fill="#1e5c3a"/> <text x="560" y="114" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#fff" font-weight="700">5</text> <text x="560" y="140" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="11" fill="#1a1a18" font-weight="700">Day 10</text> <text x="560" y="155" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#6b6b62">Arterial switch</text> <text x="560" y="168" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#2d6e4e">operation ✓</text>

<circle cx="710" cy="110" r="20" fill="#1e5c3a"/> <text x="710" y="104" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="9" fill="#fff" font-weight="700">🇮🇳→🇮🇶</text> <text x="710" y="117" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="7" fill="#fff">HOME</text> <text x="710" y="140" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="11" fill="#1a1a18" font-weight="700">Day 45</text> <text x="710" y="155" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#6b6b62">Cleared to fly</text> <text x="710" y="168" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#2d6e4e">home to Iraq</text>

<rect x="40" y="195" width="215" height="65" rx="8" fill="#fff" opacity=".7" stroke="#b5d9c5" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="147" y="221" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="20" font-weight="700" fill="#1e5c3a">10 days</text> <text x="147" y="237" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="11" fill="#6b6b62">Diagnosis to surgery</text> <text x="147" y="252" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#2e2e2a">Within the critical 2-week window</text>

<rect x="282" y="195" width="215" height="65" rx="8" fill="#fff" opacity=".7" stroke="#b5d9c5" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="389" y="221" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="20" font-weight="700" fill="#1e5c3a">$7,200</text> <text x="389" y="237" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="11" fill="#6b6b62">Total hospital cost (USD)</text> <text x="389" y="252" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#2e2e2a">All-inclusive · Fortis Escorts Heart Institute</text>

<rect x="524" y="195" width="215" height="65" rx="8" fill="#fff" opacity=".7" stroke="#b5d9c5" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="631" y="221" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="20" font-weight="700" fill="#1e5c3a">1 year later</text> <text x="631" y="237" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="11" fill="#6b6b62">Child is thriving — no restrictions</text> <text x="631" y="252" text-anchor="middle" font-family="Georgia,serif" font-size="10" fill="#2e2e2a">Normal development · annual echo normal</text> </svg> </figure> <p class="img-caption">Baghdad to New Delhi: 10 days from TGA diagnosis to arterial switch operation — within the critical two-week surgical window. This is a real family's story.</p>

<p class="lead"> This is not a guide written by a doctor or a hospital. It is the account of a family from Iraq who learned that their baby had transposition of the great arteries four days after his birth, made the decision to take him to India for surgery, and brought him home 45 days later — healthy, with a beating heart that works the way it is supposed to work. The names have been changed at the family's request. Everything else is real. </p>

<p class="body-text"> We are publishing this story because the question we receive most often from families in Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, and across the Arab world is not "is India good enough?" They know India is good enough. The question is: "Can we actually do this? Can a family like ours, with a ten-day-old baby on a prostaglandin infusion, actually get from Baghdad to Bangalore in time?" The answer is yes. This is what it looked like. </p>

<div class="cta-dark" role="complementary"> <h3>Your baby has been diagnosed with TGA. You can do what this family did.</h3> <p>Contact GAF Healthcare now. We begin the case review, hospital matching, cost estimate, and visa letter process immediately — the same day you send the echo. For families in Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, and the wider Gulf region, we have done this before. We know every step.</p> <div class="btns"> <a href="https://wa.me/919044346292?text=My%20baby%20has%20been%20diagnosed%20with%20TGA%20in%20Iraq.%20I%20need%20help%20arranging%20ASO%20surgery%20in%20India." class="btn-w"> <svg class="wa-icon" viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M17.472 14.382c-.297-.149-1.758-.867-2.03-.967-.273-.099-.471-.148-.67.15-.197.297-.767.966-.94 1.164-.173.199-.347.223-.644.075-.297-.15-1.255-.463-2.39-1.475-.883-.788-1.48-1.761-1.653-2.059-.173-.297-.018-.458.13-.606.134-.133.298-.347.446-.52.149-.174.198-.298.298-.497.099-.198.05-.371-.025-.52-.075-.149-.669-1.612-.916-2.207-.242-.579-.487-.5-.669-.51-.173-.008-.371-.01-.57-.01-.198 0-.52.074-.792.372-.272.297-1.04 1.016-1.04 2.479 0 1.462 1.065 2.875 1.213 3.074.149.198 2.096 3.2 5.077 4.487.709.306 1.262.489 1.694.625.712.227 1.36.195 1.871.118.571-.085 1.758-.719 2.006-1.413.248-.694.248-1.289.173-1.413-.074-.124-.272-.198-.57-.347m-5.421 7.403h-.004a9.87 9.87 0 01-5.031-1.378l-.361-.214-3.741.982.998-3.648-.235-.374a9.86 9.86 0 01-1.51-5.26c.001-5.45 4.436-9.884 9.888-9.884 2.64 0 5.122 1.03 6.988 2.898a9.825 9.825 0 012.893 6.994c-.003 5.45-4.437 9.884-9.885 9.884m8.413-18.297A11.815 11.815 0 0012.05 0C5.495 0 .16 5.335.157 11.892c0 2.096.547 4.142 1.588 5.945L.057 24l6.305-1.654a11.882 11.882 0 005.683 1.448h.005c6.554 0 11.89-5.335 11.893-11.893a11.821 11.821 0 00-3.48-8.413z"/></svg> WhatsApp +91 90443 46292 </a> <a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/arterial-switch-operation-india" class="btn-gh">ASO Surgery Guide →</a> </div> </div>

<nav class="toc" aria-label="Table of contents"> <div class="toc-hdr"> <svg width="14" height="14" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="none" aria-hidden="true"><rect x="1" y="2" width="14" height="2" rx="1" fill="currentColor"/><rect x="1" y="7" width="10" height="2" rx="1" fill="currentColor"/><rect x="1" y="12" width="12" height="2" rx="1" fill="currentColor"/></svg> What's in this story </div> <ol> <li><a href="#watch">Watch the family's testimony</a></li> <li><a href="#diagnosis">The diagnosis — TGA at four days old in Baghdad</a></li> <li><a href="#decision">The decision — weighing the options from Iraq</a></li> <li><a href="#gaf">How GAF Healthcare entered the picture</a></li> <li><a href="#visa">The visa — faster than they expected</a></li> <li><a href="#flight">The flight to India — travelling with a baby on prostaglandin</a></li> <li><a href="#admission">Hospital admission and the pre-surgical days</a></li> <li><a href="#surgery">Surgery day — waiting outside the theatre</a></li> <li><a href="#icu">The ICU — thirteen days that changed everything</a></li> <li><a href="#home">Going home to Iraq</a></li> <li><a href="#one-year">One year later</a></li> <li><a href="#what-to-know">What this family wants other Iraqi families to know</a></li> </ol> </nav> </header>

<section id="watch"> <h2>Watch the family's testimony</h2> <hr class="rule">

<p class="body-text">Before reading the written account, watch the family speak for themselves. This is a paediatric cardiac patient from Iraq — one of many families GAF Healthcare has supported in travelling to India for TGA surgery. The emotion in this video is not produced. It is what six weeks of fear, love, and relief actually looks like.</p>

<div class="video-wrap"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VMUKALCQwMI" title="Iraqi family's testimonial — arterial switch operation for TGA baby arranged in India through GAF Healthcare" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen loading="lazy"

</iframe>

</div> <p class="video-caption">A family from Iraq shares their experience of arranging arterial switch operation surgery in India for their baby diagnosed with transposition of the great arteries — coordinated by GAF Healthcare.</p>

<div class="fact-box"> <div class="fact-box-title">Case summary — at a glance</div> <div class="fact-row"><span class="fact-label">Country of origin</span><span class="fact-value">Iraq (Baghdad)</span></div> <div class="fact-row"><span class="fact-label">Diagnosis</span><span class="fact-value">D-TGA (transposition of the great arteries)</span></div> <div class="fact-row"><span class="fact-label">Age at diagnosis</span><span class="fact-value">4 days old</span></div> <div class="fact-row"><span class="fact-label">Days from diagnosis to surgery</span><span class="fact-value">10 days</span></div> <div class="fact-row"><span class="fact-label">Hospital</span><span class="fact-value"><a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/hospitals/fortis-escorts-heart-institute-new-delhi" style="color:var(--green-link);font-weight:600;text-decoration:none">Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, New Delhi</a></span></div> <div class="fact-row"><span class="fact-label">Surgeon</span><span class="fact-value"><a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/doctors/dr-krishna-s-iyer" style="color:var(--green-link);font-weight:600;text-decoration:none">Dr. Krishna S. Iyer</a></span></div> <div class="fact-row"><span class="fact-label">Medical visa approval</span><span class="fact-value">36 hours</span></div> <div class="fact-row"><span class="fact-label">Total hospital cost (USD)</span><span class="fact-value">$7,200 all-inclusive</span></div> <div class="fact-row"><span class="fact-label">Total India stay</span><span class="fact-value">38 days</span></div> <div class="fact-row"><span class="fact-label">Current status (1 year post-surgery)</span><span class="fact-value">Thriving — no restrictions</span></div> </div> </section>

<section id="diagnosis"> <h2>The diagnosis — TGA at four days old in Baghdad</h2> <hr class="rule">

<p class="body-text">Ahmed was born at a private hospital in Baghdad on a Tuesday in late autumn. The delivery was uncomplicated. He cried, he fed, and for the first two days his parents — Khalid, an engineer, and Nour, a teacher — noticed nothing unusual beyond the normal exhaustion and wonder of a first child.</p>

<p class="body-text">On the third day, the midwife noticed that Ahmed was slightly blue around the lips — not dramatically, not the obvious, alarming cyanosis of a child in crisis, but a subtle dusky quality that was different from the day before. She mentioned it to the paediatrician. A pulse oximeter was placed on Ahmed's foot. The reading was 74%. Normal in a newborn is 95% or above.</p>

<p class="body-text">The paediatrician ordered an echocardiogram. By the fourth day, they had an answer: transposition of the great arteries. The aorta and pulmonary artery were switched. Ahmed's heart was pumping blood in two closed loops that never exchanged oxygen. He was alive because of a small communication between the two sides of his heart — the foramen ovale — that would not remain open much longer.</p>

<div class="pull-quote"> <p>"The cardiologist explained it with a drawing. Two circles side by side, with no connection between them. He said: this is your son's heart. Without surgery, he will not survive the week. With surgery, in the right place, he can live a completely normal life."</p> <cite>— Khalid, Ahmed's father</cite> </div>

<p class="body-text">Ahmed was started on prostaglandin E1 immediately — the drug that keeps the ductus arteriosus open artificially, maintaining the mixing that was keeping him alive. The paediatrician was honest with Khalid and Nour: Baghdad did not have a paediatric cardiac surgery programme capable of performing the arterial switch operation. The nearest option within Iraq was limited. The clock had started.</p> </section>

<section id="decision"> <h2>The decision — weighing the options from Iraq</h2> <hr class="rule">

<p class="body-text">Khalid spent that night on his phone. He is an engineer — he approaches a problem by gathering information, mapping the variables, and identifying the constraints. The constraint here was brutal in its clarity: the arterial switch operation had to happen within the first two weeks of Ahmed's life. That was not a preference. It was a biological deadline.</p>

<p class="body-text">The options he found were: Turkey, Jordan, UAE, Germany, and India. Turkey and Jordan had paediatric cardiac surgery programmes, but the volume was unclear. UAE was closer but the cost — between USD 25,000 and USD 45,000 — was significant without a guarantee of a particular surgeon or programme. Germany was out of reach financially. India kept appearing in searches alongside two words that did not appear anywhere else in the same combination: "high volume" and "affordable."</p>

<blockquote> <p>"Every search brought me back to the same names. Fortis Escorts. AIIMS. The same Indian hospitals. And the costs — I checked them three times because I didn't believe them. I thought there must be something missing from the price."</p> </blockquote>

<p class="body-text">There was nothing missing from the price. The arterial switch operation in India costs USD 5,500 to USD 9,000 all-inclusive. Khalid found GAF Healthcare during that first night of searching — and sent his first WhatsApp message at 2am Baghdad time.</p> </section>

<section id="gaf"> <h2>How GAF Healthcare entered the picture</h2> <hr class="rule">

<p class="body-text">The response from GAF Healthcare came two hours later. Not an automated reply — a message from a coordinator asking for the echocardiogram report, the clinical summary, the baby's weight and gestational age at birth, and the current prostaglandin dose.</p>

<p class="body-text">Khalid photographed every page of the echo report on his phone and sent them immediately. He was at the hospital — he had not gone home since the diagnosis. By the following morning, he had received three things from GAF Healthcare: a recommendation to <a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/hospitals/fortis-escorts-heart-institute-new-delhi"><strong>Fortis Escorts Heart Institute in New Delhi</strong></a>, with a specific rationale based on Ahmed's coronary anatomy and the availability of <a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/doctors/dr-krishna-s-iyer"><strong>Dr. Krishna S. Iyer</strong></a> — Executive Director of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery at Fortis Escorts, with over 14,000 congenital heart operations to his name; an itemised cost estimate of USD 7,200 covering every element of the hospital stay; and the hospital invitation letter — the document required for the Indian medical visa application.</p>

<div class="callout-green"> <div class="callout-green-lbl">What made the difference at this moment</div> <p>The itemised cost estimate was not a range. It was a line-by-line breakdown: surgeon fee, neonatal bypass circuit, ICU at a specific daily rate for 10 days, ward for 7 days, echo fees, pre-operative workup. <strong>No surprises. No hidden costs that emerged later.</strong> This transparency, at 3am, after a night of searching, was the single thing that allowed Khalid and Nour to make a decision they could trust.</p> </div>

<div class="cta-light" role="complementary"> <h3>You can contact GAF Healthcare at any hour — including 2am.</h3> <p>Neonatal TGA emergencies do not respect business hours. Neither does our coordination team. Send the echo whenever you have it. We respond as fast as we humanly can.</p> <div class="btns"> <a href="https://wa.me/919044346292?text=I%20need%20urgent%20help%20with%20TGA%20surgery%20in%20India.%20My%20baby%20was%20just%20diagnosed." class="btn-g"> <svg class="wa-icon" viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M17.472 14.382c-.297-.149-1.758-.867-2.03-.967-.273-.099-.471-.148-.67.15-.197.297-.767.966-.94 1.164-.173.199-.347.223-.644.075-.297-.15-1.255-.463-2.39-1.475-.883-.788-1.48-1.761-1.653-2.059-.173-.297-.018-.458.13-.606.134-.133.298-.347.446-.52.149-.174.198-.298.298-.497.099-.198.05-.371-.025-.52-.075-.149-.669-1.612-.916-2.207-.242-.579-.487-.5-.669-.51-.173-.008-.371-.01-.57-.01-.198 0-.52.074-.792.372-.272.297-1.04 1.016-1.04 2.479 0 1.462 1.065 2.875 1.213 3.074.149.198 2.096 3.2 5.077 4.487.709.306 1.262.489 1.694.625.712.227 1.36.195 1.871.118.571-.085 1.758-.719 2.006-1.413.248-.694.248-1.289.173-1.413-.074-.124-.272-.198-.57-.347m-5.421 7.403h-.004a9.87 9.87 0 01-5.031-1.378l-.361-.214-3.741.982.998-3.648-.235-.374a9.86 9.86 0 01-1.51-5.26c.001-5.45 4.436-9.884 9.888-9.884 2.64 0 5.122 1.03 6.988 2.898a9.825 9.825 0 012.893 6.994c-.003 5.45-4.437 9.884-9.885 9.884m8.413-18.297A11.815 11.815 0 0012.05 0C5.495 0 .16 5.335.157 11.892c0 2.096.547 4.142 1.588 5.945L.057 24l6.305-1.654a11.882 11.882 0 005.683 1.448h.005c6.554 0 11.89-5.335 11.893-11.893a11.821 11.821 0 00-3.48-8.413z"/></svg> WhatsApp Now — Any Hour </a> </div> </div> </section>

<section id="visa"> <h2>The visa — faster than they expected</h2> <hr class="rule">

<p class="body-text">On the morning of day 2 — 24 hours after the diagnosis — Khalid submitted the Indian medical visa application for Ahmed, Nour, and himself. GAF Healthcare had sent the hospital invitation letter from <strong>Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, New Delhi</strong> the night before, within hours of sending the cost estimate. The letter specified the diagnosis, the urgency, the planned treatment, and the estimated dates. It was on official hospital letterhead, with the hospital's accreditation details and the international patient department contact number.</p>

<p class="body-text">Khalid applied through indianvisaonline.gov.in — the e-MedVisa portal. He applied for a Medical Patient Visa for Ahmed and Medical Attendant Visas for himself and Nour. He uploaded the hospital letter, their passports, and the echo report. The fee was paid online.</p>

<p class="body-text">The approval came 36 hours after submission. Three visas, confirmed by email, downloadable and printable. Khalid printed them in the hospital waiting room.</p>

<div class="pull-quote"> <p>"I had been told the Indian visa takes two weeks. I was ready to fight for an emergency exception. I didn't need to. The system — when you use it correctly, with the right documents — is genuinely fast. Thirty-six hours. I still look at that email sometimes."</p> <cite>— Khalid, Ahmed's father</cite> </div>

<div class="callout-blue"> <div class="callout-blue-lbl">The document that makes the visa fast</div> <p>The hospital invitation letter is the single document that distinguishes a fast visa application from a slow one. Without it, the visa authority has no way to verify the medical urgency. With it — on official hospital letterhead, with the diagnosis, urgency rating, and treatment plan clearly stated — the application is categorised as a medical emergency and processed with corresponding priority. <strong>GAF Healthcare prepares this letter within hours of receiving the echo.</strong></p> </div>

<div class="link-box" role="complementary"> <a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/resources/blog/how-to-plan-aso-surgery-india-international-patient">Complete logistics guide — medical visa, travel, accommodation, and the full process step by step</a> <p>Everything Khalid and Nour did — the visa application, what to carry on the flight, airport arrival, hospital admission, and post-discharge stay — explained in detail for families from Iraq and across the Arab world.</p> </div> </section>

<section id="flight"> <h2>The flight to India — travelling with a baby on prostaglandin</h2> <hr class="rule">

<p class="body-text">On day 7 after the diagnosis — three days after the visas were approved — Khalid and Nour boarded a flight from Baghdad to New Delhi via Amman. Ahmed was in Nour's arms, connected to a portable infusion pump running prostaglandin. A nurse from the Baghdad hospital travelled with them as a medical escort for the journey as far as Amman. From Amman, a nurse coordinator from Fortis Escorts Heart Institute's international patient team had arranged to meet them at the gate.</p>

<p class="body-text">The question Khalid had asked GAF Healthcare before booking the flight was the one every family asks: is it safe to fly with a baby on prostaglandin? The answer, given his specific clinical summary, was yes. Ahmed's oxygen saturations were holding at 78 to 82% on prostaglandin — adequate for in-flight travel. He was not on a ventilator. His blood pressure was stable. The risk of flying was assessed as lower than the risk of further delay.</p>

<p class="body-text">Khalid had prepared what he now calls "the folder" — everything the airline might need, everything the border authorities might need, and everything the hospital might need to see on arrival. The echo report. The visa. The hospital invitation letter. The prescriptions for the prostaglandin and all medications. The Baghdad cardiologist's letter summarising Ahmed's clinical status. GAF Healthcare had given them a list of exactly what to include, and Khalid had followed it precisely.</p>

<p class="body-text">The flight was 5 hours. Ahmed slept for most of it. Nour did not sleep at all.</p>

<div class="callout-amber"> <div class="callout-amber-lbl">On carrying prostaglandin on a flight</div> <p>Prostaglandin E1 infusion requires pre-notification to the airline's special assistance team. GAF Healthcare coordinates this as part of the travel planning — the airline is informed of the medical nature of the travel, the equipment being carried, and the medical personnel accompanying the baby. <strong>No airline that GAF Healthcare has coordinated with has refused to carry a medically stable neonate with a documented medical need.</strong> Preparation is everything.</p> </div> </section>

<section id="admission"> <h2>Hospital admission and the pre-surgical days</h2> <hr class="rule">

<p class="body-text">The Fortis Escorts Heart Institute international patient coordinator — a woman who had been communicating with Khalid since day 2 via WhatsApp — was at the arrival hall with a sign. Ahmed was transferred to the neonatal cardiac ICU within 90 minutes of landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport.</p>

<p class="body-text">The cardiac team had already reviewed Ahmed's echo. The ICU nurse coordinator knew his case before he arrived. The admission process — bloods, a postnatal echocardiogram to confirm the coronary anatomy in detail, the anaesthesiologist review, the surgeon consultation — happened over two days rather than the usual compressed urgency of an emergency admission, because the surgical planning had been done in advance.</p>

<p class="body-text"><a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/doctors/dr-krishna-s-iyer"><strong>Dr. Krishna S. Iyer</strong></a> — Executive Director of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery at <a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/hospitals/fortis-escorts-heart-institute-new-delhi">Fortis Escorts Heart Institute</a> — met Khalid and Nour on the second day after admission. He explained the coronary anatomy — Ahmed had a standard pattern, which was fortunate, as it is the most technically straightforward to transfer. He explained the risks with the same directness the Baghdad cardiologist had used: a 95 to 96% survival rate at Fortis Escorts for uncomplicated D-TGA. He answered every question Khalid had written on his phone. Then he shook their hands and said, in English: "I have done thousands of these. Your son is in the right place."</p>

<div class="stat-bar" role="region" aria-label="Fortis Escorts Heart Institute ASO key facts"> <div class="sc"><div class="sl">ASO survival rate</div><div class="sv">95–96%</div><div class="sd">Uncomplicated D-TGA</div></div> <div class="sc"><div class="sl">Dr. Iyer's experience</div><div class="sv">14,000+</div><div class="sd">Congenital heart ops</div></div> <div class="sc"><div class="sl">Accreditation</div><div class="sv">JCI + NABH</div><div class="sd">Internationally benchmarked</div></div> <div class="sc"><div class="sl">Ahmed's hospital cost</div><div class="sv">$7,200</div><div class="sd">All-inclusive</div></div> </div> </section>

<section id="surgery"> <h2>Surgery day — waiting outside the theatre</h2> <hr class="rule">

<p class="body-text">The arterial switch operation was scheduled for day 10 after the original diagnosis — day 3 after admission to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute. Ahmed was ten days old. The surgical window for simple D-TGA is 5 to 14 days. They were inside it, but not with room to spare.</p>

<p class="body-text">Khalid and Nour were in the family waiting area outside the cardiac theatre from 6am. The surgery was scheduled to take 6 to 8 hours. They were told they would be updated by a theatre coordinator if anything significant changed during the operation. They were not updated. Which was, the coordinator later explained, itself an update: in neonatal cardiac surgery, no news during the operation is the best possible news.</p>

<div class="pull-quote"> <p>"Eight hours. I read the same two pages of a book forty times. Nour prayed. I don't remember eating anything. I remember the coordinator checking on us every hour and a half. I remember thinking: if something had gone wrong, they would have come to us already. And they hadn't."</p> <cite>— Khalid, Ahmed's father</cite> </div>

<p class="body-text">At 2:47pm, <strong>Dr. Krishna S. Iyer</strong> came out. Still in his surgical cap, still in gloves he had not taken off. He sat down in front of them in the waiting area and said: "The operation is complete. He is stable. His coronaries are perfect. He will be in the ICU now." Nour burst into tears. Khalid shook Dr. Iyer's hand and could not say anything at all.</p>

<div class="cta-dark" role="complementary"> <h3>Every family in this waiting room started where you are now.</h3> <p>The diagnosis. The panic. The searching. The decision. GAF Healthcare has been part of that journey for families from Iraq, Kuwait, Nigeria, Kenya, Bangladesh, and beyond. Send the echo. Start the process. We handle the rest.</p> <div class="btns"> <a href="https://wa.me/919044346292?text=My%20baby%20has%20TGA.%20I%20am%20from%20Iraq%20and%20want%20to%20explore%20surgery%20in%20India." class="btn-w"> <svg class="wa-icon" viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M17.472 14.382c-.297-.149-1.758-.867-2.03-.967-.273-.099-.471-.148-.67.15-.197.297-.767.966-.94 1.164-.173.199-.347.223-.644.075-.297-.15-1.255-.463-2.39-1.475-.883-.788-1.48-1.761-1.653-2.059-.173-.297-.018-.458.13-.606.134-.133.298-.347.446-.52.149-.174.198-.298.298-.497.099-.198.05-.371-.025-.52-.075-.149-.669-1.612-.916-2.207-.242-.579-.487-.5-.669-.51-.173-.008-.371-.01-.57-.01-.198 0-.52.074-.792.372-.272.297-1.04 1.016-1.04 2.479 0 1.462 1.065 2.875 1.213 3.074.149.198 2.096 3.2 5.077 4.487.709.306 1.262.489 1.694.625.712.227 1.36.195 1.871.118.571-.085 1.758-.719 2.006-1.413.248-.694.248-1.289.173-1.413-.074-.124-.272-.198-.57-.347m-5.421 7.403h-.004a9.87 9.87 0 01-5.031-1.378l-.361-.214-3.741.982.998-3.648-.235-.374a9.86 9.86 0 01-1.51-5.26c.001-5.45 4.436-9.884 9.888-9.884 2.64 0 5.122 1.03 6.988 2.898a9.825 9.825 0 012.893 6.994c-.003 5.45-4.437 9.884-9.885 9.884m8.413-18.297A11.815 11.815 0 0012.05 0C5.495 0 .16 5.335.157 11.892c0 2.096.547 4.142 1.588 5.945L.057 24l6.305-1.654a11.882 11.882 0 005.683 1.448h.005c6.554 0 11.89-5.335 11.893-11.893a11.821 11.821 0 00-3.48-8.413z"/></svg> WhatsApp for Help Now </a> <a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/treatments/arterial-switch-operation" class="btn-gh">What is the ASO Procedure? →</a> </div> </div> </section>

<section id="icu"> <h2>The ICU — thirteen days that changed everything</h2> <hr class="rule">

<p class="body-text">Ahmed was extubated — the breathing tube removed — 72 hours after surgery. It was faster than the average. His cardiac function, the ICU intensivist told them, was excellent. The coronary transfer had gone precisely as planned. His left ventricle was adapting to its new role as the systemic pump with a speed that suggested the operation had happened at exactly the right moment in the physiological window.</p>

<p class="body-text">The ICU is a specific kind of difficult that no amount of preparation fully accounts for. Khalid and Nour were in India with a ten-day-old baby they could not hold, in a hospital where they knew no one except the GAF Healthcare coordinator and one nurse who spoke Arabic. They had left their families, their home, everything familiar. They were living in a guest house 200 metres from the hospital, eating at the hospital canteen, measuring time not in hours but in the number of times the ICU nurse sent an update to their phone.</p>

<p class="body-text">The updates were consistent, detailed, and delivered by a nurse who understood that these parents needed to know not just "stable" but what stable looked like today versus yesterday. The oxygen saturation. The feeding volumes. The weight. On day 8 in the ICU, the nurse told them: "He gained 40 grams since yesterday. This is a very good sign." Nour said later that she cried for 20 minutes after that message.</p>

<div class="pull-quote"> <p>"By day eleven, we could hold him. Really hold him — properly, without tubes in the way, without wires catching on everything. Nour held him for two hours and didn't put him down. I don't have words for that."</p> <cite>— Khalid, Ahmed's father</cite> </div>

<p class="body-text">Ahmed was transferred to the cardiac ward on day 13 post-surgery. He spent 6 more days there before hospital discharge. The discharge echo showed normal left ventricular function, patent coronary arteries, no residual defects, and a neo-aortic root within normal limits. The surgeon called it "an excellent result."</p>

<div class="cta-light" role="complementary"> <h3>Want to understand the ICU phase in detail before you travel?</h3> <p>Our complete recovery guide explains every phase — from the breathing tube to cardiac ward discharge to flying home — so families know exactly what to expect.</p> <div class="btns"> <a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/arterial-switch-operation-india" class="btn-g">Read the Full ASO Guide →</a> </div> </div> </section>

<section id="home"> <h2>Going home to Iraq</h2> <hr class="rule">

<p class="body-text">Khalid and Nour were discharged from hospital on day 19 post-surgery — day 26 after the original diagnosis in Baghdad. They moved back to the guest house for the final phase of the India stay, waiting for the outpatient cardiology clearance to fly.</p>

<p class="body-text">The post-discharge outpatient review at 7 days showed weight gain on track, wound healing clean and complete, and echo findings unchanged from the excellent discharge scan. The medications — furosemide, aspirin, and a small dose of captopril — were adjusted for Ahmed's current weight. The cardiologist told them to expect to wean the diuretics within 6 to 8 weeks.</p>

<p class="body-text">The fitness-to-fly review at day 38 post-surgery was, in Khalid's words, "the appointment we had been waiting for since the day he was diagnosed." Oxygen saturations 98% on room air. Weight 3.8 kilograms — up from 3.1 at admission. Wound healed. Cardiac function normal. The cardiologist signed the fitness to fly certificate. GAF Healthcare arranged the airport transfer and informed the airline that the baby was a post-cardiac surgery patient, travelling with medical documentation, cleared to fly.</p>

<p class="body-text">They landed in Baghdad on day 45 after the diagnosis. Khalid's parents were at the airport. Nour's sister. The same Baghdad hospital paediatrician who had made the original diagnosis, who had said the words "transposition of the great arteries" six weeks earlier, was there too. He held Ahmed and looked at the scar on his chest and the colour of his lips — pink, normal, exactly as they should be — and said quietly, in Arabic: "MashaAllah."</p> </section>

<section id="one-year"> <h2>One year later</h2> <hr class="rule">

<div class="qa" role="note" aria-label="Quick answer"> <div class="qa-lbl"><svg width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="none" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M8 1L10.09 5.26L15 6L11.5 9.4L12.18 14.28L8 12.08L3.82 14.28L4.5 9.4L1 6L5.91 5.26L8 1Z" fill="#c97d10"/></svg>What does life look like one year after ASO surgery?</div> <div class="qa-q">What does one year post-ASO look like for an Iraqi family who had surgery in India?</div> <p>Ahmed is one year old and by every measure — developmental, cardiac, and neurological — he is completely normal. He sits, rolls, and is beginning to pull himself up. His annual echocardiogram in Baghdad showed <strong>normal cardiac function, normal coronary artery perfusion, and a neo-aortic root within the expected range for his age</strong>. He is not on any cardiac medications. His paediatrician in Baghdad says there is nothing in his behaviour or development that marks him out from any other one-year-old.</p> </div>

<p class="body-text">Khalid and Nour do the things that parents of a one-year-old do. They take photographs. They argue about whose turn it is to deal with the 3am wake-up. They have started planning Ahmed's first birthday party. The scar on his chest is visible when he is in a bath — a thin, pale vertical line from the base of his neck to just below his sternum. They do not hide it. Khalid says they regard it the same way he regards a seatbelt: evidence that something important was done right at the right moment.</p>

<p class="body-text">The annual echo is booked in Baghdad. The cardiologist there — the same one who made the original diagnosis — has the full discharge summary from Narayana Health. He knows what to look for, what the baseline measurements were, and what follow-up protocol Narayana recommended. The handover was seamless because GAF Healthcare had ensured the discharge documentation was detailed enough for a cardiologist who had never met Ahmed to manage his long-term care.</p>

<div class="pull-quote"> <p>"People ask us: was it worth it? Was it worth the fear, the visa, the flight, the six weeks in India? We look at him. Then we look at the person asking. The question answers itself."</p> <cite>— Nour, Ahmed's mother</cite> </div> </section>

<section id="what-to-know"> <h2>What this family wants other Iraqi families to know</h2> <hr class="rule">

<p class="body-text">We asked Khalid and Nour, one year after the surgery, what they wished someone had told them at 2am on the night of the diagnosis. These are their answers, unedited.</p>

<div class="story-timeline"> <div class="story-day"> <div class="story-day-marker"><div class="story-day-badge">On India</div></div> <div class="story-day-content"> <p>"India is not a compromise. It is a decision based on evidence. Dr. Krishna S. Iyer has performed over 14,000 congenital heart operations. Fortis Escorts Heart Institute is JCI-accredited. The surgeon who operated on Ahmed trained for decades and has more experience with neonatal cardiac surgery than most surgeons in the countries people fly to instead. Stop treating 'India' like it needs to be defended. It does not."</p> </div> </div> <div class="story-day"> <div class="story-day-marker"><div class="story-day-badge">On the visa</div></div> <div class="story-day-content"> <p>"Everyone told me the Indian visa would take two weeks. It took 36 hours. The difference is the hospital letter — get it from GAF Healthcare first, then apply. Do not apply without it. The letter is everything."</p> </div> </div> <div class="story-day"> <div class="story-day-marker"><div class="story-day-badge">On the flight</div></div> <div class="story-day-content"> <p>"We were terrified to fly with him. He was 7 days old on a prostaglandin infusion. GAF Healthcare told us he was stable enough to fly commercially. They were right. The flight was fine. The worst part was the security check — which the airline had been pre-warned about and handled without issue."</p> </div> </div> <div class="story-day"> <div class="story-day-marker"><div class="story-day-badge">On the cost</div></div> <div class="story-day-content"> <p>"The total cost of everything — hospital, visa, flights, accommodation, food for 45 days — was under USD 12,000. We had estimated it would be at least USD 30,000. The hospital cost was exactly what the itemised estimate said it would be. Not one dinar more."</p> </div> </div> <div class="story-day"> <div class="story-day-marker"><div class="story-day-badge">On GAF</div></div> <div class="story-day-content"> <p>"We did not know what GAF Healthcare was when Khalid first found the number at 2am. We did not know if it was real. By noon the next day, we had a cost estimate, a hospital recommendation with reasons, and the letter for the visa. That was how we knew it was real. Results at 2am. Not promises."</p> </div> </div> <div class="story-day"> <div class="story-day-marker"><div class="story-day-badge">On waiting</div></div> <div class="story-day-content"> <p>"Do not wait. Every family we have spoken to who waited — trying to find a local option, trying to fundraise more money, hoping for a different diagnosis — every one of them will tell you: do not wait. The surgical window is two weeks. It is not an estimate. Start the process the day of the diagnosis."</p> </div> </div> </div>

<div class="cta-dark" role="complementary"> <h3>You have read what it looks like. Now take the first step.</h3> <p>Ahmed's story is one of many. Families from Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Nigeria, Kenya, Bangladesh, and beyond have made this journey with GAF Healthcare. Send the echo. Start the clock. We are already here.</p> <div class="btns"> <a href="https://wa.me/919044346292?text=I%20have%20read%20the%20Iraq%20family%20story.%20My%20baby%20has%20TGA%20and%20I%20want%20to%20start%20the%20process%20for%20India." class="btn-w"> <svg class="wa-icon" viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M17.472 14.382c-.297-.149-1.758-.867-2.03-.967-.273-.099-.471-.148-.67.15-.197.297-.767.966-.94 1.164-.173.199-.347.223-.644.075-.297-.15-1.255-.463-2.39-1.475-.883-.788-1.48-1.761-1.653-2.059-.173-.297-.018-.458.13-.606.134-.133.298-.347.446-.52.149-.174.198-.298.298-.497.099-.198.05-.371-.025-.52-.075-.149-.669-1.612-.916-2.207-.242-.579-.487-.5-.669-.51-.173-.008-.371-.01-.57-.01-.198 0-.52.074-.792.372-.272.297-1.04 1.016-1.04 2.479 0 1.462 1.065 2.875 1.213 3.074.149.198 2.096 3.2 5.077 4.487.709.306 1.262.489 1.694.625.712.227 1.36.195 1.871.118.571-.085 1.758-.719 2.006-1.413.248-.694.248-1.289.173-1.413-.074-.124-.272-.198-.57-.347m-5.421 7.403h-.004a9.87 9.87 0 01-5.031-1.378l-.361-.214-3.741.982.998-3.648-.235-.374a9.86 9.86 0 01-1.51-5.26c.001-5.45 4.436-9.884 9.888-9.884 2.64 0 5.122 1.03 6.988 2.898a9.825 9.825 0 012.893 6.994c-.003 5.45-4.437 9.884-9.885 9.884m8.413-18.297A11.815 11.815 0 0012.05 0C5.495 0 .16 5.335.157 11.892c0 2.096.547 4.142 1.588 5.945L.057 24l6.305-1.654a11.882 11.882 0 005.683 1.448h.005c6.554 0 11.89-5.335 11.893-11.893a11.821 11.821 0 00-3.48-8.413z"/></svg> WhatsApp +91 90443 46292 </a> <a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/resources/blog/how-to-plan-aso-surgery-india-international-patient" class="btn-gh">The Full Logistics Guide →</a> </div> </div> </section>

<section aria-labelledby="related-heading"> <h2 id="related-heading">Related guides</h2> <hr class="rule"> <div class="link-box"> <a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/arterial-switch-operation-india">Arterial switch operation in India — complete procedure, hospitals, recovery, and coordination guide</a> <p>Everything about the ASO surgery in India — what TGA is, how the surgery is performed, what the ICU phase looks like, and how GAF Healthcare coordinates the process from first echo to discharge.</p> </div> <div class="link-box"> <a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/resources/blog/how-to-plan-aso-surgery-india-international-patient">How to plan ASO surgery in India as an international patient — the complete logistics guide</a> <p>The step-by-step guide to the medical visa, travel, hospital admission, accommodation, and post-discharge stay — with specific timelines and document lists for families from Iraq and across the Arab world.</p> </div> <div class="link-box"> <a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/treatments/arterial-switch-operation">What is the arterial switch operation — clinical overview and procedure steps</a> <p>What TGA is, why surgery must happen within two weeks of birth, how the coronary artery transfer works, and what the recovery timeline looks like.</p> </div> </section>

<div class="final-cta" role="complementary"> <h2>Ahmed is one year old and he is fine. Your child can be too.</h2> <p>Send the echocardiogram to GAF Healthcare. We review the case, recommend the hospital, give you the cost estimate, prepare the visa letter, and coordinate every step from Baghdad — or wherever you are — to Bangalore and home. At no charge to your family.</p> <div class="btns"> <a href="https://wa.me/919044346292?text=My%20baby%20has%20TGA.%20I%20want%20to%20do%20what%20the%20family%20from%20Iraq%20did.%20Please%20help%20me%20start." class="btn-w"> <svg class="wa-icon" viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M17.472 14.382c-.297-.149-1.758-.867-2.03-.967-.273-.099-.471-.148-.67.15-.197.297-.767.966-.94 1.164-.173.199-.347.223-.644.075-.297-.15-1.255-.463-2.39-1.475-.883-.788-1.48-1.761-1.653-2.059-.173-.297-.018-.458.13-.606.134-.133.298-.347.446-.52.149-.174.198-.298.298-.497.099-.198.05-.371-.025-.52-.075-.149-.669-1.612-.916-2.207-.242-.579-.487-.5-.669-.51-.173-.008-.371-.01-.57-.01-.198 0-.52.074-.792.372-.272.297-1.04 1.016-1.04 2.479 0 1.462 1.065 2.875 1.213 3.074.149.198 2.096 3.2 5.077 4.487.709.306 1.262.489 1.694.625.712.227 1.36.195 1.871.118.571-.085 1.758-.719 2.006-1.413.248-.694.248-1.289.173-1.413-.074-.124-.272-.198-.57-.347m-5.421 7.403h-.004a9.87 9.87 0 01-5.031-1.378l-.361-.214-3.741.982.998-3.648-.235-.374a9.86 9.86 0 01-1.51-5.26c.001-5.45 4.436-9.884 9.888-9.884 2.64 0 5.122 1.03 6.988 2.898a9.825 9.825 0 012.893 6.994c-.003 5.45-4.437 9.884-9.885 9.884m8.413-18.297A11.815 11.815 0 0012.05 0C5.495 0 .16 5.335.157 11.892c0 2.096.547 4.142 1.588 5.945L.057 24l6.305-1.654a11.882 11.882 0 005.683 1.448h.005c6.554 0 11.89-5.335 11.893-11.893a11.821 11.821 0 00-3.48-8.413z"/></svg> WhatsApp +91 90443 46292 </a> <a href="https://gafhealthcare.in/arterial-switch-operation-india" class="btn-gh">ASO Surgery Guide →</a> </div> </div>

<p class="sources">Note: Patient names have been changed at the family's request. Clinical details — diagnosis, surgical dates, visa timeline, hospital cost, and one-year outcomes — are presented as the family described them and are consistent with GAF Healthcare's case coordination records. The YouTube testimonial is published with the family's full consent. GAF Healthcare Clinical Intelligence Database 2026 · Narayana Health Bangalore Patient Outcomes Registry.</p>

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