Emergency surgery saves boy with congenital heart disease

A 2-year-old boy named QN (Cambodian) suffered from a severe congenital heart disease. Doctors at Children's Hospital 1 performed emergency surgery and raised more than 100 million VND from benefactors to pay for his treatment.

Taking the medical history, it was noted that the child had difficulty breathing since he was 4 months old and had been hospitalized many times in a hospital in Cambodia. After examination, the doctor diagnosed the child with pneumonia and treated him many times but did not completely recover. Four months ago, the child's condition worsened with symptoms such as fever in the afternoon, cough with phlegm and difficulty breathing, leading the doctors to suspect that the child had tuberculosis. However, treatment with anti-tuberculosis drugs did not bring results and the doctor advised the family to take the child to Children's Hospital 1 for further treatment.

On November 12, Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Chau (Cardiology Department, Children's Hospital 1) said that the boy was diagnosed with a rare congenital heart defect, which is the appearance of a septum in the left atrium and pulmonary hypertension. Normally, the left atrium allows blood to circulate easily, but this defect creates a septum between the two atria, preventing blood from circulating well, leading to rapid breathing and easily being mistaken for diseases such as pneumonia or tuberculosis. Due to taking tuberculosis medication for many months, the boy's urine was red when he was admitted to the hospital.

After consulting with the cardiovascular team, the doctors decided to perform a septal resection surgery. However, the patient's family could not afford the surgery due to difficult circumstances.

Doctor checks the health of the child

With the motto "saving people is above all," the hospital's Board of Directors decided to support the child patient and allowed emergency surgery. After pre-operative preparation, the surgery was performed successfully. The cost of the surgery, which was over 100 million VND, was supported by the hospital's Social Work Department, through funds from benefactors.

Currently, the patient's health has stabilized and he is expected to be discharged this afternoon (November 12).

Dr. Truong Huu Khanh, Head of the Social Work Department at Children's Hospital 1, said that for children with congenital heart disease, emergency surgery is very necessary and costly. The hospital always prepares plans to mobilize funding to ensure that no child is in danger due to lack of money for treatment.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phau-thuat-khan-cap-cuu-be-trai-mac-benh-tim-bam-sinh-185241112131014146.htm