Girl From Ukraine Has Surgery in N.J.

A 5-year-old Ukrainian girl with a life-threatening heart defect was recovering well Monday after surgery that Soviet physicians apparently were afraid to try, doctors said.

A six-member surgical team spent two hours closing a hole between the lower chambers of Maya Shrago’s heart and repairing associated damage to the organ, doctors at Deborah Heart and Lung Center said.

Soviet physicians are able to correct the condition but doctors at Deborah have more experience in the procedure, a doctor there said.