Tanvi at AIIMS: A 13-year timeline of surgery, delays and her death in 2026

Tanvi was diagnosed with a complex congenital heart defect as a child and remained under treatment at AIIMS for years. A 2014 document recommended surgery, but AIIMS later said corrective surgery was not feasible. She died in September 2026, aged 15.

In Short

• Tanvi was diagnosed with VSD and pulmonary atresia at age two
• AIIMS conducted angiography and cardiac catheterisation to assess surgical feasibility
• A 2014 estimate certificate proposed unifocalisation and conduit surgery for her

Tanvi Pariyani spent most of her life living with a serious congenital heart condition. Her family says they had been taking her for treatment since she was around one and had spent years hoping she would eventually undergo corrective surgery. AIIMS, however, has given a different account of her treatment. The hospital says Tanvi was extensively evaluated, but doctors later concluded that corrective surgery was not feasible because of the complexity of her heart anatomy.

Tanvi died at AIIMS on September 1, aged 15.

The hospital has now ordered an inquiry into her treatment and the circumstances surrounding her death. The committee is expected to examine her medical records, investigations, treatment history, specialist opinions and the findings of the autopsy.

WHAT IS KNOWN OF TANVI'S MEDICAL JOURNEY SO FAR

2012: Tanvi is diagnosed with a complex heart defect

The first documented AIIMS record dates to October 10, 2012, when Tanvi was two years old. She was diagnosed with ventricular septal defect (VSD) with pulmonary atresia, a complex congenital heart condition. In pulmonary atresia, the normal route for blood to travel from the heart to the lungs is blocked or absent.

She was subsequently evaluated to determine whether her condition could be corrected through surgery.

2013: Extensive tests are carried out

During this year, Tanvi underwent several investigations, including CT angiography, conventional angiography and cardiac catheterisation. These tests were important because the possibility of surgery depended on the detailed anatomy of her pulmonary arteries and the vessels supplying blood to her lungs.

According to AIIMS, the investigations were carried out to determine whether corrective surgery was technically possible.

2014: AIIMS recommends surgery

AIIMS estimate certificate dated January 31, 2014 says Tanvi needs corrective surgery. It recorded Tanvi’s diagnosis as VSD with pulmonary atresia and listed “unifocalisation & conduit” as the proposed procedure. The estimated cost was around Rs 1.2 lakh to Rs 1.25 lakh.

The document is important because it indicates that corrective surgery had been considered at that stage itself. Tanvi's father, Mukesh Pariyani, has said that the family was subsequently given dates for the operation.

2015-16: The surgery does not happen

Tanvi’s father has alleged that a surgery date in September 2015 was later shifted to November, but the operation did not take place even then. The family also raised a grievance with AIIMS in 2016. The complaint was referred for further evaluation and management in the cardiac surgery department.

One of the doctors identified in the records and subsequent media reports is Dr Sachin Talwar, under whom Tanvi’s case was being followed in cardiothoracic and vascular surgery. Dr Talwar later told The Times of India that Tanvi was not considered a candidate for corrective surgery because the arteries supplying blood to her lungs were essentially absent. He said he had reviewed her scans and discussed the assessment with the family.

2017-18: AIIMS says surgery is ruled out

This is the most important turning point in Tanvi’s medical history. AIIMS says that after detailed evaluation, the treating team concluded around 2017 that corrective surgery was not feasible because of the complexity of her cardiac anatomy.

Reports citing a later assessment in 2018 say doctors found that major blood vessels supplying her lungs were absent. She was subsequently managed medically and advised regular follow-up.

This is also where the two accounts of her treatment differ.

Her father has maintained that his daughter was waiting for surgery and that the family had repeatedly approached AIIMS. The hospital’s position is that surgery had been evaluated but was ultimately not considered a safe or feasible option.

The ongoing inquiry will have to establish exactly when that decision was made, what the medical basis was and how it was communicated to the family.

2025: The family seeks help again

Tanvi’s health continued to deteriorate. In a grievance submitted in June 2025, her father alleged that she was still awaiting surgery and that the family could not afford treatment elsewhere.

AIIMS says that by this stage, opinions from senior cardiac surgeons continued to favour medical management rather than corrective surgery. The hospital has also said that the family sought opinions elsewhere about the possibility of surgery.

February 2026: Family approaches the PMO

In February this year, Tanvi’s father approached the Prime Minister’s Office, alleging that earlier complaints had not resulted in a solution and that his daughter’s condition was worsening. The complaint was processed through the government grievance system.

August 24, 2026: Tanvi is admitted again

Tanvi was admitted to AIIMS on August 24 as her condition worsened, but this time, doctors were not simply considering corrective heart surgery. According to AIIMS, she was being evaluated for a possible heart-lung transplant because of the advanced nature of her disease.

The hospital began conducting investigations as part of that evaluation.

September 1: Tanvi dies at AIIMS

According to the account given by AIIMS, Tanvi developed severe weakness in the early hours of September 1. Doctors said she became severely cyanotic and her oxygen saturation fell to around 48 per cent. Oxygen support was started, but she subsequently suffered a hypoxic spell followed by cardiac arrest.

Despite resuscitation efforts, she could not be revived, and was declared dead at 5:06 am.

September 2: AIIMS orders an inquiry

Following the controversy, AIIMS constituted a committee to examine Tanvi’s case. The inquiry will look at her complete clinical records, investigations, treatment, specialist opinions and the circumstances surrounding her death. The autopsy findings will also form part of the assessment.

WHAT CAUSED HER DEATH?

AIIMS has described a sudden deterioration involving severe hypoxia and cardiac arrest. Until the inquiry is complete, it would be premature to conclude that Tanvi died because of a delay in surgery.

What is clear is that her case raises difficult questions about the treatment of children with complex congenital heart disease — particularly how doctors decide whether a child can undergo corrective surgery, how families are informed when surgery is ruled out, and what options remain when the disease progresses.

For Tanvi’s family, those questions come after 13 years of taking their daughter through a medical system that they say never gave her the operation they had hoped for. For AIIMS, the inquiry now has to establish whether the treatment she received was appropriate for the condition she had, and whether anything in her long medical history could have changed the outcome.

- Ends