A Taiwanese baby born with congenital heart problems has became the world’s third-lightest baby to undergo a complex heart surgery, Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei said yesterday.
Chang Chung-i (張重義), the hospital’s attending cardiovascular surgeon, said the mother, surnamed Lin (林), had remained at the hospital since an ultrasound scan showed that the fetus had congenital heart problems.
The baby, delvered prematurely by caesarian section, was born with a type A interrupted aortic arch combined with an aortopulmonary window, which can cause heart or lung failure if left untreated.
Photo courtesy of Mackay Memorial Hospital
Senior cardiovascular surgeon Hsu Kang-hung (徐綱宏) said the hospital planned to wait until the baby, nicknamed An An (安安), reached an optimal weight of 2,200g to perform the surgery, but the operation was moved forward due to An An’s inability to process excess water, which was accompanied by a marked increase in pulmonary blood flow and respiratory failure.
The surgery was performed on Sept. 18 last year, 24 days after An An’s birth, Hsu said, adding that the baby weighed only 1,948g at the time.
Hsu said the entire surgery took about nine hours, during which time doctors reconstructed the aortic arch using An An’s pericardial membrane to “close” the wall in the septum of the upper chambers of the heart.
Being born with a type A interrupted aortic arch and an aortopulmonary window is very rare, with a prevalence of only 1 in 1,000 and 6 in 10,000 births respectively, Hsu said.
The lightest baby to undergo a successful heart repair surgery was a Japanese baby weighing 1,230g, followed by a Greek baby weighing 1,600g, Hsu said.
Post surgery follow-up for An An has been promising, Chang said, adding that the baby is now six months old, weighs 7.3kg and can ingest 150cc of milk.
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