Archive for cardiac surgery
“Seeing” the unseen: A way to pinpoint elusive cardiac conduction tissue
When patients with congenital heart issues have an operation, surgeons have to proceed with an “eye of faith” as they work around conduction tissue — a network of cells and electrical signals that control the beating of a heart. Not visible to the naked eye, conduction systems vary person to person, but they’re particularly difficult ... Read More about “Seeing” the unseen: A way to pinpoint elusive cardiac conduction tissue
Wanting to give back, four heart patients now work as heart pros
They belong to a unique group. As children, they needed surgery to repair congenital heart conditions. Rather than being afraid, they instead were curious about the science behind their treatment. What they learned motivated them to discover more and ultimately pursue careers in medicine. Now healthy adults and working for the Benderson Family Heart Center at Boston ... Read More about Wanting to give back, four heart patients now work as heart pros
Letters from the heart: “Life will be better”
Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) have much to think about as they undergo tests, try medications, and face possible surgery. These adults know what that’s like. To celebrate National Heart Month, here are their words of encouragement. Frank Collins, 63 I loved basketball as a kid, but when I played I would get tired ... Read More about Letters from the heart: “Life will be better”
Saving baby Marcela: A mother’s mission to finally hold her daughter
The translations of this page are translated from English into another language using Google Translate, a third party tool. Please note that such translations from the English language version may contain errors and/or inaccuracies as a result of the translation. Boston Children’s Hospital disclaims all liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may result from ... Read More about Saving baby Marcela: A mother’s mission to finally hold her daughter
Bringing the Ozaki procedure to the world to repair children’s aortic valves
Children with aortic stenosis or regurgitation often need surgery to reconstruct or replace the aortic valve. However, existing bioprosthetics can fail over time, and mechanical leaflets and valves require lifelong anticoagulant therapy. Christopher Baird, MD, director of the Congenital Heart Valve Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, saw a promising alternative emerge in adult cardiac surgery: aortic ... Read More about Bringing the Ozaki procedure to the world to repair children’s aortic valves
Inspired by Chinese finger traps, an annuloplasty ring that grows with the child
This post is part of a series on innovations to treat valvular disease in children. Read our prior posts on transcatheter valve replacement and an expandable prosthetic heart valve. Prosthetic annuloplasty rings have improved the durability of heart valve repairs in adults. Implanted at the perimeter of dilated, leaky valves, they help keep the valve ... Read More about Inspired by Chinese finger traps, an annuloplasty ring that grows with the child
New study ties residual lesion score (RLS) to cardiac surgery outcomes
How well a patient does after surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD) depends on a large number of variables, ranging from patient characteristics to preoperative status to anatomic complexity to perioperative factors. One of the most important predictors of adverse events or reintervention is the presence of residual lesions — structural cardiac abnormalities that remain ... Read More about New study ties residual lesion score (RLS) to cardiac surgery outcomes
Single Ventricle Cardiac Home Monitoring Program empowers families to care for fragile newborns at home
A single ventricle heart condition is a congenital cardiac defect in which only one of the heart’s two ventricles is functioning properly. It is most often corrected with three surgeries: the first, shortly after birth, the second, when a baby is 4 to 6 months old, and the third in the toddler years. The Single ... Read More about Single Ventricle Cardiac Home Monitoring Program empowers families to care for fragile newborns at home
A repair for Charleston’s complex heart
Trey and Jandie Steele both work in medical device sales. They have spent lots of time in hospital operating rooms and are comfortable discussing complex medical procedures with doctors and surgeons. And yet, when their second child, Charleston, was diagnosed with a number of congenital heart defects one week after her birth, they felt blindsided ... Read More about A repair for Charleston’s complex heart
New findings show risk of bleeding and clotting after COVID-19
A year after COVID-19 was first identified, we have some answers about how to prevent and treat this illness, but there are still many questions. Some of the unknowns include what longer-term effects COVID-19 infection may have on the heart and other systems in the body. One of the complications associated with COVID-19 infection is ... Read More about New findings show risk of bleeding and clotting after COVID-19