Archive for single ventricle defects
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
Heart strong: Two families bond over shared challenges
Four years ago, Ali Marcus walked through the door of a coffee shop in Connecticut and met the woman who would soon become her close friend, Britt Sheiber. The two were meeting at the suggestion of a mutual friend: Britt had just learned at a prenatal visit that one of her twins would be born ... Read More about Heart strong: Two families bond over shared challenges
Utilizing engineering tools from the aerospace industry to repair hearts
When an 18-year-old patient from North Carolina recently presented at Boston Children’s Heart Center with an enlarged right atrium that made the flow through his Fontan circulation very inefficient, David Hoganson, MD, decided to utilize a new set of tools borrowed from the aerospace industry. “We have been collaborating with Dassault Systemes for over a ... Read More about Utilizing engineering tools from the aerospace industry to repair hearts
A sign of Faith in one little girl’s single ventricle journey
Nicole and Charlie Parker were no strangers to adoption when they embarked on the journey to bring their daughter Faith home from Langfang, China — they had previously adopted two of their four children. What they were not familiar with was raising a child with a complex congenital heart condition. Faith was born with a ... Read More about A sign of Faith in one little girl’s single ventricle journey
Regina’s journey with HLHS: Four years later
Regina was just 25 days old the first time she made the trip from her home in Mexico to Boston. Regina was born with a serious congenital heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), resulting in the underdevelopment of the left side of her heart. Her doctors in Mexico told her parents it was ... Read More about Regina’s journey with HLHS: Four years later
Having Faith: A novel approach to heart surgery
When Rachel and Rudy Fasano of New Haven, Connecticut learned they were having their first baby after three years of trying, they were overjoyed, as were their families. At Rachel’s 15-week ultrasound to learn their baby’s sex, both grandmothers were also in tow, eager to hear the news. But the visit delivered some unexpected results. ... Read More about Having Faith: A novel approach to heart surgery