NEW DELHI: AIIMS has formed a committee to examine the clinical course and circumstances surrounding the death of Tanvi, a day after the 15-year-old Kota girl with a complex congenital heart condition passed away in the hospital.TOI reported on her case several times recently, as also the news of her death.The committee, set up by the AIIMS director, will examine the complete sequence of events, clinical records, investigations, treatment provided, expert opinions and circumstances surrounding her death, the institute said Wednesday. An autopsy is also under way.AIIMS said it will await the committee’s findings and the autopsy report before drawing final conclusions about the circumstances surrounding her death. The institute said it would extend full cooperation to the committee and take appropriate action based on its findings.TOI had reported that Tanvi had been making rounds of AIIMS for more than 13 years after being diagnosed with ventricular septal defect (VSD) with pulmonary atresia as a child. Her family had raised concerns over the delay in corrective surgery and alleged that the surgery dates were fixed and later changed.Records available with TOI include an AIIMS estimate dated Jan 31, 2014, which mentions Rs 1.2 lakh for “unifocalisation & conduit” surgery and carries a handwritten requirement for four blood donors. Multiple AIIMS replacement donor slips in the records show that blood donor details were submitted.In its response, AIIMS said Tanvi was first evaluated at its cardiology OPD in Oct 2012 and underwent detailed cardiac investigations in 2013. The treating team, it said, concluded in 2017 that corrective surgery was not feasible because of the complexity of her condition. She was advised medical management.The institute said the family continued to seek opinions on the possibility of surgery. Last year, the head of the department of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery and another senior cardiothoracic surgeon advised continuation of medical management, AIIMS said.Tanvi was admitted on Aug 24 after her condition deteriorated and was evaluated for a possible heart-lung transplant. Around 2.50 am on Sept 1, she developed severe cyanosis. Her oxygen saturation fell to about 48%. Oxygen support was started at 3.30 am, but she could not be revived and was declared dead at 5.0 6am, AIIMS said.
