Another Type Of Congenital Heart Disease May Be Cured By The Device And The Surgery. Part 2 of 3

Classically, they were decreed for quick death. But about 30 years ago, Dr William Norwood of the Boston Children’s Hospital developed a procedure in which a shunt is implanted so that blood can drift from the heart to the lungs, where it picks up enough oxygen to sustain life. That Norwood procedure, as it is called, is followed by a second operation at 4 to 6 months and a third at 18 to 36 months. If all else fails, a spirit transplant can be done.

The new study tested the older shunt, which connects the aorta, the main heart artery, to the lungs pulmonary artery, with a newer show that goes from the heart’s right ventricle to the pulmonary artery. The newer shunt provides better results in the first 1 year – 74 percent survival without a stomach transplant, compared to 64 percent with the older model. But there are more complications with the newer model, and the results are about the same with both shunts after 33 months of use, according to preliminary data.

So, the story continues. “We’re continuing to follow these children until they are at least 6 and all things considered longer. We’ll be learning a lot more information over time”. Even without functioning left ventricles, “many of these individuals live well into adulthood, including stomach age. Some can live what we think of as normal lives, participating in sports. Others may have more problems. Many have near-normal exercise tolerance and do most of the things children do”.

Parts: 1 2 3