Surgeons performing an infant heart operation
17-day-old patient
Mrs. T (29 yrs old) gave birth to a baby boy at a hospital in Hanoi. P developed normally during the first week of his life. During the second week, he developed a constant cough, breathing difficulty, and occasional cyanosis. Mrs. T decided to take him to the doctor. After a careful examination, the family was informed that P had a terminal medical condition that required an extremely difficult and complex surgery. This, combined with the fact that P was so young,created concerns that the surgery might not be successful.
P was transferred to Vinmec International Hospital when he was only 17 days old. Here, he was diagnosed with ventricular septal defect, hypoplastic aortic arch, and coarctation of the aorta. If the necessary operation was not initiated promptly, he would become more unstable and the surgery would become increasingly complicated. The earlier the surgery could be done, the better it would be for P’s heart and his physiological development going forward.
“The executive board and doctors at Vinmec consulted, provided support, and assured our family that we would have the best possible surgical team for P’s surgery. Our family was completely reassured and decided to have the surgery at Vinmec International Hospital,” said Mrs. P.
Success from a perfect collaboration
The surgery lasted for 5 hours, performed by a team of Vinmec International Hospital doctors that included anesthetists, NICU doctors, and other specialists. Dr. Nguyen Quang Thang, head of Intensive Care at Vinmec International Hospital, said: “Surgery on newborns is dependent on a myriad of elements, includingskilled surgeons and anesthetists, cardiopulmonary bypass (CC machine) and post-operative recovery. From the start of the surgery to the moment the patient is extubated, there are certain risks and complications.
Post-operative recovery is most challenging. After surgery, the neonate’s heart is swollen and, with a small thoracic volume leaving little room for swelling, the baby quickly becomes exhausted. Therefore, the surgeons keep the sternum open, with only the skin sutured in the first few days after the surgery. 24 hours after surgery, when the heart becomes less swollen and edematous, the sternum can be closed. From then on, the recovery will be fairly rapid.
“Before coming to Vinmec, after we were informed by doctors at the previous hospital about our child’s condition, we truly knew the meaning of despair. But the doctors at Vinmec gave us hope. We were filled with joy and amazement when only 8 days after admission, our child was able to leave the hospital with a much healthier heart!” – Said P’s mother while preparing for P to be discharged.
In the future, P will still need to take medication and be closely monitored. After having an aortic coarctation repair, pediatric patients need to be monitored to see if the aorta becomes re-narrowed. This process enables doctors to assess whether or not the heart will regain its function and develop normally.
Previously, with similar operations, surgeries had to be completed in two phases, requiring two separate operations. Fortunately with P’s surgery, doctors at Vinmec were able to adopt a one-phase operation, requiring only one surgery. Therefore, the operation was fairly complicated, requiring incision at the aortic arch, end-to-end anastomosis, ventricular septal repair, and ductus arteriosis ligation. The advantage of a one-phase operation is a reduction in treatment time, less patient exhaustion, and better patient recovery. Upon discharge, the evaluation by doctors at Vinmec concluded that P’s heart is recovering well and beginning to regain normal function.
This was the youngest heart surgery case ever performed at Vinmec, and was indeed a complicated one. In medicine, teamwork is essential. The success of the operation for the 17-day-old patient at Vinmec is a testament to the professional collaboration amongst doctors at Vinmec International Hospital and other specialists, as well as the effective co-operation of the surgical team during the operation and the post-operative period.
Bài viết này được viết cho người đọc tại Hà Nội, Hạ Long, Hải Phòng, Đà Nẵng.
