FAQs: Hole in Heart



What is a hole in the heart mean?

Congenita ldefects in  children are very  common occurrence in paediatriccardiology. This basically means that there is hole or a defect in the chambersof the heart.  A hole in the septum between the heart's two upper chambers is called an atrial septal defect (ASD). A hole in the septum between the heart's two lower chambers is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD). It is the most common heart problem that babies are born with and do need surgical intervention to avoid complications. Some of the defects do close and do not  cause any symptoms. However if there are symptoms then it is prudent that  you consult a paediatric cardiac surgeon for all the treatment options.

What are the symptoms of babies who have congenital heart disease?
Ø  Shortness of breath, especially during exercise.
Ø  Tiredness and dullness
Ø  Blue baby  syndrome Cyanosis (a blue tint to the lips, skin, or fingernails caused by a lack of oxygen)
Ø  A heart murmur which is identified by a cardiologist
Ø  Abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
Ø  Swelling of the extremities.
Ø  Reduced alertness and delayed milestones
Ø  Prone to infections

What are the complications ?
Lung damage is the most common complication  and can lead to  death .

What are the treatment options ?
Open heart surgery with closure of these  defects is the most  recommend option to give a better quality of life to the child .By  Surgery we mean  closure of the septal defects with or with or without  implant is generally the norm ,  to attain optimum level of heart  and circulatory function of the child .This would eradicate all the symptoms that the child has faced thus far. It is important that the surgery should be performed within   2 to 3 years of diagnosis. Further delay could increase  complications and success rate of the operation also diminishes.

What are the paediatric cardiology services at Wockhardt Hospital?
Wockhardt Paediatric and Congenital Heart Centre is one of a kind in Mumbai. It boasts an experienced panel of paediatric surgeons, cardiologist, intensivists, and anaesthetists, per fusionists and trained nurses as well as technologists who as a team deliver the best care to children with congenital heart diseases.  The  Paediatric cardiac surgery is needed for the child’s wellbeing is carried out by highly specialised and reputed paediatric cardiac surgeons of Wockhardt Hospital. The department has played a pioneering role in both on and off pump cardiac neonatal surgeries as well as complex congenital heartsurgeries and repeat open heart surgeries.  

The state of the art facility consists of:
o   Cardiac Catheterisation and Interventional Cardiology: Our expert paediatric cardiologists and have great experience in dealing with closure of ASD, VSD, PDA etc  and other congenital  heart  surgeries .
o   A full-fledged PICU which is under the guidance of protocol and evidence based management and is under the constant care of Consultant Paediatric cardiac
o   Advanced incubators and warmers transport ventilators
o   1:1 NURSING CARE FOR 24* 7 PERSONAL  attention and  quality  nursing care
o   Ambulance support with transport ventilator and incubator to safely transport babies in critical condition.
o   Installed state of the art machines for supportive gases for Nitrous oxide, High frequency Oscillatory ventilators and extra corporeal membrane oxygenation facility.

Diagnostic Services to Support the department include:
•             Foetal Echocardiography – The department helps to assess and diagnose cardiac malformations in unborn babies in the prenatal stage of pregnancy and to act upon them before and after birth.
•             Advanced 3-d Echocardiography and 2-d portable echocardiography – High resolution 3-d echocardiography machine to make precise diagnosis in new-born babies.
•             Cardiac MRI and CT scan: 3 Tesla MRI machine along with special paediatric cardiac software and 256 slice CT scan machine that offers precise diagnosis with low radiation facility.

What are the various cardiac procedures carried out on children with heart defects?
The centre has clinical expertise in managing the following cases:
A)          Neonatal Cardiac Surgery
Ø  Aortic stenosis
atrial septal defect (ASD)
Ø  coarctation of the aorta (COA)
Ø  patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)
Ø  tetralogy of Fallot (TOF)
Ø  anomalous pulmonary venous connection/return (TAPVC or TAPVR)
Ø  truncus arteriosus
Ø  ventricular septal defect (VSD)
B)            The centre specialises complicated congenital heart  surgeries and hybrid procedures   
c)            Minimal Invasive Cardiac surgery for structural heart  repairs and valve repair surgeries

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