In Turkey, nearly 4000 babies with heart disease are born every year. These include the heart's atria and > holes between the ventricles (ASD- septal defect), congenital defect in the wall that prevents the passage of blood between the ventricles of the heart (VSD- ventricular septal defect) and strong> Tetralogy of Fallot(blue boy disease) is frequently present . HeartandVascular Surgery Specialist Prof. Dr. Süleyman Özkan gave information about the surgery time for babies with heart disease.
Urgent intervention is required in case of valve absence, which prevents blood from flowing from the heart to the lungs or other organs. In these surgeries performed immediately after birth, additional veins are inserted into patients or valves are opened. Patients can also be treated with angiographic methods. Within the first 2 weeks after birth, a disease called great artery transposition (TGA), in which the veins turn upside down, can be treated with high success. Veins can be completely normalized. When it is late, alternative surgeries are performed, but their success is lower. Surgery is performed in the first month for patients with inverted veins and a hole in the heart (TGA-ASD, VSD), and more complex diseases with a hole in the heart and a single vein (Truncus arteriosus). If it is delayed, the lungs become under high pressure and deteriorate.
Prof. Dr. Süleyman Özkan continued his words as follows. “The disease called atrioventricular septal defect is a condition in which ASD and VSD occur together. The baby needs to have surgery between 3-6 months. Later, high lung pressure and related chronic lung disease may develop. In patients who cannot gain weight due to a hole in the heart or cannot develop due to heart failure and infection, surgery should be performed without waiting. Lung pressure elevation develops rapidly, especially when there are multiple or large holes. ir. After 6 months, the risk of surgery increases. At primary school age, there may be no chance of surgery. Rarely, it can be waited until the age of one, and if the hole is small, it can close on its own. That's why close follow-up with the doctor is very important. Not every hole has to be closed by surgery, the hole can also be closed by angiography.
Cardiac Examination Must Be Performed in Cases of Persistent Weakness
Surgeries that can be waited until the age of 2 are surgery on one side of the heart. These are diseases that do not occur in the womb or do not develop fully. The first surgery is performed between the ages of 6 months and one year, and the final surgery is performed after the age of two. The heart cannot be fully restored, but vital functions are adequately provided. In childhood heart valve diseases, the timing of surgery is determined according to the severity of the disease. Temporary procedures can be performed using angiographic methods, as can happen in infancy. Valve repair or replacement can then be performed. Pericardium (heart membrane) and myocardial (heart muscle) diseases may show late symptoms and have an insidious course. Cardiac examination is essential in cases of persistent fever and persistent fatigue.
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