New breakthrough in the treatment of congenital heart defects

Pediatric surgeons at Children's Hospital Boston and the Mayo Institute in the US say they are developing new treatments that can significantly improve the survival rate of newborns with a congenital heart defect. extremely complicated: left cardiac dysplasia syndrome (atrophic left ventricle - HLHS).

Several decades ago, children with congenital heart defects were almost unable to live to adolescence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly every 40,000 American children born with congenital heart defects every year, nearly 1,000 babies suffer from HLHS.

This disease occurs when the child's ventricles develop abnormally due to genetic problems. For a normal heart, the left ventricle receives oxygenated blood from the lungs to supply the brain and other organs. After the oxygen is removed, the blood will return to the right atrium, down the right ventricle and be pumped up to the lungs and restart the blood circulation cycle. In the case of only one right ventricle, the heart cannot receive enough oxygen-containing blood to feed the body. Without surgery, children with HLHS often die within a few days or weeks after birth. Heart transplant is an option, but the opportunity is very fragile when babies are less likely to survive to wait for a transplant.

Harrison Fitch is now living well with his parents and brother.(Photo:viralnewschart)

Currently, to help children survive with a ventricle, experts apply three standard surgical methods developed over the past 30 years, including: Norwood is performed immediately after birth, Glenn when he is young. It is 4-6 months old and Fontan is about 3 years old. But recently, doctors at Children's Hospital Boston have achieved their results after 10 years of research efforts, when using biological techniques to help children with HLHS develop a defective part of the ventricle.

Dr. Sitaram Emani said this method has been applied to 34 patients and 13 cases are living with two ventricles that work normally. One of the lucky ones is Harrison Fitch (currently 6 years old) from Atlanta, Georgia.

In 2006, after an ultrasound scan and diagnosed with an abnormal fetus, Harrison's parents decided to sign up for a new treatment for Children's Hospital Boston - interventions from fetal stage. , the time that experts think can take advantage of the body's ability to regenerate. During this surgery, doctors successfully inserted a balloon into the heart cavity and inflated it to open a blocked heart valve. The heart valve then begins to open and close, allowing blood to pass through the left ventricle.

When Harrison was born, his left ventricle began to develop but was not able to function independently. Doctors continue to conduct three surgical methods of Norwood, Glenn and Fontan. When Harrison was four years old, a few months after the third surgery, the boy underwent a fourth surgery to help the left ventricle work normally. Now Harrison is completely healthy and can participate in strong motor games like football, tennis.

Doctors say not all patients achieve the desired results like Harrison's case. Therefore, Dr. Emani and his colleagues are studying more about this technique to make sure this is a safety measure, including post-operative care. Although the effectiveness of this method may take many years to be confirmed, surgeon Harold Burkhart hopes this could be a "lifesaver" for children with HLHS malformations, especially if they do not have enough time and health to wait for a heart transplant.