Emergency surgery to save a boy with congenital heart disease

A 2-year-old boy named QN (Cambodian nationality) 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 been having 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 had treated him many times but he did not recover completely. 4 months ago, the child's condition worsened with symptoms such as fever in the afternoon, coughing up phlegm and difficulty breathing, making the doctors 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 diaphragm in the left atrium and pulmonary hypertension. Normally, the left atrium helps blood circulate easily, but this defect creates a diaphragm 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 medicine for many months, when the boy was admitted to the hospital, his urine was red.

After consulting with the cardiovascular team, the doctors decided to perform a diaphragmectomy. 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 patient and allow emergency surgery. After pre-operative preparation, the surgery was performed successfully. The surgery cost of more than 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, 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