Medical Health Encyclopedia

Congenital heart defect corrective surgery

Heart surgery for children requires a specialized team of health care providers:

• Pediatric heart (cardiovascular) surgeons
• Pediatric anesthesiologists
• Pediatric heart-lung (cardiopulmonary) bypass pump technologists
• Pediatric surgical nurses and technicians
• Pediatric intensive care physicians and nurses

Heart surgery requires intensive and extensive monitoring, treatment and coordination by the entire team. Heart surgery for children may take as many as 12 hours in the operating room.

After heart surgery, the child will be moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) to be constantly and closely monitored and treated for several days. During this time the child will have the following:

• A tube in the airway (endotracheal tube) and a respirator to help with breathing. The child will be kept sleeping (sedated) while on the respirator.
• One or more small tubes in a vein (IV line) to give fluids and medications.
• A small tube in an artery (arterial line) to measure the blood pressure.
• One or two chest tubes to drain air, blood, and fluid from the chest cavity.
• A tube through the nose into the stomach (nasogastric tube) to empty the stomach and give medications and/or feedings for several days.
• A tube in the bladder to drain and measure the urine for several days.

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The child may also have pacemaker wires in the chest in case a pacemaker is needed to regulate heartbeat and rhythm.

SPECIFIC HEART DEFECT SURGERIES INCLUDE:

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) ligation

• Before birth, there is a natural opening between the aorta (the main artery to the body) and the pulmonary artery (the main artery to the lungs) called the ductus arteriosus. This opening usually closes shortly after birth. PDA occurs when this opening fails to close; PDA occurs in about 10% of infants.
• PDA is often treated initially with a medication called indomethacin. If the ductus fails to close on its own or with indomethacin, surgery is performed. A small incision is made on the left side of the chest. The ductus is either ligated (tied off) or cut.