Heart surgery for 17-day-old patient: success from a perfect collaboration

At Vinmec, this is the youngest heart surgery case and is indeed a complicated one. In medicine, teamwork is essential. The success of the operation for the 17-day-old patient at Vinmec is a testament for the professional collaboration among doctors at Vinmec International Hospital and other specialists as well as the effective co-operation of the surgical team throughout the operation and the post operative period.

17-day-old patient

Mrs T (29yo) gave birth to a baby boy at a hospital in Hanoi. In the first week, P was developing normally. After the first 2 weeks, after noticing the baby was constantly coughing, having trouble breathing, and skin turning blue at some occasions, Mrs. T decided to take him to the doctor. After a period of observation, the family was informed that P has a fatal medical condition and is very hard to operate on. This, combined with the fact that P is too young makes the chance of a successful surgery extremely slim.
P was transferred to Vinmec International Hospital when he was 17 days old. Here, doctors diagnosed P with ventricular septal defect, hypoplastic aortic arch and coarctation of the aorta.

If operation is delayed, he will be very unstable and the surgery will become increasingly complicated. The earlier the surgery is, the better it would be for P’s heart and his physiological development in the future.
“The executive panel and doctors at Vinmec has consulted, provided support and ensured our family that we would have the best surgical team for P’s surgery. Our family was completely reassured and decided to have the surgery at Vinmec Hospital”, said Mrs. P.
Success from a perfect collaboration

The surgery lasted for 5 hours with the input from doctors from Vinmec International Hospital, Anesthetists, Neonatal intensivists and other specialists. Dr. Nguyen Quang Thang, head of Intensive Care Department at Vinmec International hospital, advised that such surgeries for neonates rely on a multitude of factors: surgeons, anesthetists, cardiopulmonary bypass (CC machine) and post-operative recovery. From the start of the surgery to the moment the patient is extubated, there are certain risks and complications.
Post-operative recover is the most challenging. After the surgery, the neonate’s heart would become swollen, and with a small thoracic volume compressing onto the heart, the baby will become exhausted. Therefore, the surgeons have kept the sternum open, only sutured the skin in the first few days after the surgery. 24 hours after the surgery, once the heart becomes less swollen and edematous, the sternum would then be closed. From then on, the recovery will be fairly rapid.
“Before coming to Vinmec, when we were informed by doctors at the previous hospital about our child’s condition, we truly knew what despair meant. But the doctors at Vinmec gave us a hope. We were filled with joy and amazement when only after 8 days of admission; our child was able to leave the hospital with a much healthier heart!” - Said P’s mother while preparing for P to be discharged.
From now on, P still needs to take medication and monitored closely. After having aortic coarctation repair, the paediatric patients need to be monitored to see if the aorta is still narrowed or not. This process enables doctors to assess whether or not the heart will regain its function and develop normally.
Previously with similar operations, doctors had to complete in two phases (required two separate operations) but with P’s surgery, our doctors at Vinmec adopted a one-phase operation, which means that only one operation is required.
Therefore, the operation was fairly complicated requiring: incision at the aortic arch, end-to-end anastomosis, ventricular septal repair, ductus arteriosis ligation. The advantage of a one-phase operation is a reduction in treatment time, in patient exhaustion and allows patient to recover better. Upon being discharged, doctors at Vinmec have evaluated and concluded that P’s heart is recovering well and beginning to regain normal function.
At Vinmec, this is the youngest heart surgery case and is indeed a complicated one. In medicine, teamwork is essential. The success of the operation for the 17-day-old patient at Vinmec is a testament for the professional collaboration amongst doc tors at Vinmec International Hospital and other specialists as well as the effective co-operation of the surgical team throughout the operation and the post operative period.