New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS): Doctors here have given a new lease of life to a 20-day-old baby born with a rare heart defect.

According to doctors at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, the baby was diagnosed with 'Transposition of Great Arteries' -- a congenital heart defect in which the large blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lungs and to the body are connected the opposite of a normal heart's structure.

In addition, the child also had two big holes in his heart along with a condition that include increased work of breathing and poor weight gain.

Since the baby weighed 2.2 kg which could pose a huge risk, the doctors decided to allow the child to grow a bit and weigh at least 2.8-3 kg before performing the open heart surgery.

However, his condition did not improve and he was not able to come off the ventilator. Thus, the doctors decided to perform the surgery that lasted for five hours, the hospital said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We performed an arterial switch operation in which the aorta and coronary arteries are disconnected from their place and are adjusted in the right place. Along with arterial switch, closure of the heart holes were done," said Muthu Jothi, Senior Consultant (Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgeon), at the hospital.

"By god's grace, the child recuperated enough to go home after 10-12 days post the surgery, which is not usually the case. He is doing absolutely fine now and is gaining weight too," Jothi added.

According to Jothi, there is no specific cause for this disorder.

"However, factors such as late childbirth, marriage with a close cousin or within the family, poor nutrition or infection during pregnancy, or antibiotic course in the initial three months, smoking or alcohol can increase the risk of such conditions," he noted.