For the very first time, the Cardiovascular Operation Department at the Ho Chi Minh City Medicine and Pharmacy University Hospital have successfully performed two operations on a baby born with her heart outside her chest, the hospital announced on August 24.
This success is the first of its kind in Vietnam.
The 16-month baby from the southern province of Binh Duong’s Di An Town has recovered well after undergoing the operation to relocate her heart into her chest. Before she was undergoing operations to regenerate the chest and abdominal walls and adding a membrane to separate the chest and abdomen
The baby was detected to have heart disease during pregnancy. After she was born, she was transferred to a children hospital for treatment.
However, she did not grow up as normal. Because her case was very complicated, as only one chamber of her heart pushed blood out, the blood provided for her lungs was not enough, and there were defects in the abdominal wall and breastbone, medical workers of the Medicine and Pharmacy University Hospital in HCMC faced difficulties in treatment.
At last Vietnamese doctors successfully put her heart into the chest in the second operation. As known in the world, there have been 150 people with the heart outside the chest who can die at any time.
The operation is the first success in the Southeast Asian country.
