Six days old: Sam has a heart defect "VSD" -- Ventricular Septal Defect
Sam had a pediatric cardiologist doctor appointment this morning at University of Maryland Medical Center in downtown Baltimore. Got an Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) and then an echocardiogram (Doppler-type ultrasound of heart). Based on the echo test and measurements, we met with Dr. Salim who explained that there is an 8 mm opening between the left and right ventricals up near the valves. This is large and will not close on its own, so open heart surgery will be necessary in a few months. Right now, we need to work on getting Sam bigger and keeping him healthy. If weight gain is slow, we may need to put in a feeding tube (nasal gastric), but pray that is not the case and that he can feed and grow normally until surgery. The effect of VSD is that oxygen-rich blood is getting circulated back to the lungs as well as to the body. This is inefficient and causes him to work harder at breathing and eating. 8 in 1000 births has a heart defect. 4 out of 5 of those will heal/seal up on their own in a few years. Sam is one of the approximate 1 in 1000 who needs surgery.
After that bad news, we hurried off to meet his pediatrician Dr. Christine Reilly.Today, Sam weighed 8 lb, 4 oz, up from 8 lb, 1 oz last Friday at hospital discharge.
Sam had a pediatric cardiologist doctor appointment this morning at University of Maryland Medical Center in downtown Baltimore. Got an Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) and then an echocardiogram (Doppler-type ultrasound of heart). Based on the echo test and measurements, we met with Dr. Salim who explained that there is an 8 mm opening between the left and right ventricals up near the valves. This is large and will not close on its own, so open heart surgery will be necessary in a few months. Right now, we need to work on getting Sam bigger and keeping him healthy. If weight gain is slow, we may need to put in a feeding tube (nasal gastric), but pray that is not the case and that he can feed and grow normally until surgery. The effect of VSD is that oxygen-rich blood is getting circulated back to the lungs as well as to the body. This is inefficient and causes him to work harder at breathing and eating. 8 in 1000 births has a heart defect. 4 out of 5 of those will heal/seal up on their own in a few years. Sam is one of the approximate 1 in 1000 who needs surgery.
After that bad news, we hurried off to meet his pediatrician Dr. Christine Reilly.Today, Sam weighed 8 lb, 4 oz, up from 8 lb, 1 oz last Friday at hospital discharge.
posted by Bob_and_Sue at 3:37 PM
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