New Delhi: A 15-year-old Kota girl has been visiting AIIMS Delhi since she was two for a congenital heart defect, but her father alleges that despite repeated consultations and surgery dates, the corrective procedure never took place.Tanvi was first brought to AIIMS on Oct 10, 2012, when she was two. Her records document ventricular septal defect (VSD). Her father, Mukesh Pariyani, alleges that doctors discussed surgery to close the defect and address the pulmonary artery.An AIIMS estimate certificate dated Jan 31, 2014 records her diagnosis as “VSD + pulmonary atresia” and lists “unifocalisation & conduit” as the surgery required. It estimated the cost at Rs 1.25 lakh and mentioned four blood donors. Four replacement blood donor cards are also in the file.Pariyani said the surgery date of Sept 2, 2015, was given and later changed to Nov 16, but the procedure did not take place. He also said that a person named Sanjeev, whom he described as an implant/drug company representative, took Rs 30,000 from him for implants. The allegation could not be independently verified.The records show Tanvi was being followed in CTVS under Dr Sachin Talwar. The AIIMS grievance response in 2016 advised the family to meet Dr Talwar for “further evaluation and management of surgery.”A 2018 assessment found some major blood vessels to the lungs were absent and described her heart anatomy as complex. Further evaluation was advised.Dr Talwar told TOI that Tanvi is not a candidate for surgery because the arteries supplying blood to her lungs are essentially absent. He said he had reviewed her CT scans multiple times, discussed the case with the family and documented his assessment in her records. “If the anatomy is not amenable to surgery, it is better for the patient to live for whatever time they have,” the doctor said.Tanvi’s father told TOI that she has had recurrent fever, cough and cold for the last one-and-a-half years, has lost weight and become weak, and has been unable to attend school in recent weeks. He said he was frustrated after years of making the rounds of AIIMS and wanted an opportunity to discuss the case directly with Dr Talwar.In a June 2025 grievance, he said his daughter was awaiting surgery and he could not afford treatment elsewhere. The complaint was marked as under process and referred to AIIMS.The father again approached PMO in Feb 2026, alleging that despite complaints in 2016 and 2025, no action had been taken and that his daughter’s condition was deteriorating. The grievance remained to be under process.This is not the first case of a minor whose cardiac surgery at AIIMS has faced a prolonged delay.TOI had earlier reported the case of Aayansh Kumar, a Bihar boy whose surgery was delayed for nearly six years despite being given surgery dates repeatedly.Aayansh was being treated by the same doctor, Dr Sachin Talwar, and was operated upon at AIIMS in June 2024 after his family’s plight was highlighted in these columns.When contacted, AIIMS media cell in-charge, professor Rima Dada, said: “It is a matter of concern. The matter will be looked into and resolved.”The case also brings into focus the Supreme Court’s recognition of healthcare as part of the right to life under Article 21. In Surjit Singh vs State of Punjab (1996), the court held that self-preservation of life is a necessary concomitant of the right to life.
