The patient was admitted to the hospital with increasing difficulty breathing, rapid breathing, refusal to breastfeed, severe heart failure... Previously, the patient had been diagnosed with a rare congenital heart disease while still in the womb through a screening ultrasound.
However, the family still decided to keep the pregnancy because the patient's twins had another baby... Immediately after receiving the patient, the doctors of the Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery Department, Cardiovascular Center, E Hospital quickly consulted and developed a treatment plan to ensure the child's safety. The doctors chose the minimally invasive method of window closure surgery to avoid the patient having to undergo a heavy open surgery and sternum sawing.
Dr. Do Anh Tien, Head of Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery Department, Cardiovascular Center, E Hospital, said that aortopulmonary window is a rare congenital heart defect (accounting for 0.5% of congenital heart diseases), a condition in which there is a communication between the ascending aorta and the pulmonary artery right above the sigmoid valve. This is a rare congenital heart disease, caused by an abnormality in the common wall formation of the artery into the aorta and pulmonary artery.
In the case of this patient, Dr. Do Anh Tien shared that this is a special case, the patient was discovered while still in the womb, a twin pregnancy, so when born the child only weighed 2.3 kg, a difficult problem for doctors because with low weight there will be many risks when performing surgery with extracorporeal circulation (children weighing < 3 kg is a serious factor when performing surgery using an artificial heart-lung machine). Therefore, the first option that doctors think of is to use medication for treatment, waiting until the patient is qualified in all aspects before performing surgery for the patient. However, when treated with medication, the child's physical condition does not respond to medication, the heart failure is more severe, with a high risk of death, causing doctors of the Department of Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery, Cardiovascular Center, E Hospital to immediately plan surgery for the patient.
Dr. Do Anh Tien recommends that the aortopulmonary window is a rare congenital heart disease that causes severe complications and a high risk of death, so early diagnosis and treatment are very important. Fortunately, this is a disease that can be detected through prenatal screening. Therefore, mothers need to have a full examination during pregnancy to screen for all possible risks to the fetus. In case of unfortunate heart abnormalities detected in the child, doctors will have a plan to monitor the fetus and provide the earliest treatment plan, helping to bring a healthy heart to the child.
