Interrupted Aortic Arch VSD, IAAVSD Neonatal Repair

[Angeltekyon]

Dr. Redmond Burke will you and your team do the same video project in 2012 because its the only one in the world with this level of education and it will be very good if you proceed with this.

Sincerely,

Angel Sevdov, Macedonia

[Redmond111]

@Angeltekyon Dear Andgel Sevdov, Thanks for your kind comments. We are working on our next set of congenital heart surgery videos, and we will publish them soon. I'm happy to hear that they are useful to you. Please let me know how we could make them better. Sincerely, Redmond Burke MD

[Angeltekyon]

@Redmond111

Dr. Redmond Burke, Thank you for replying I really appreciate it. The video project is one of a kind and I can't think of anything else you might add. What I really like about it that you show the complicated things very simple so that any parent in the world who's child is undergoing a cardiac surgery can understand the procedure and see that it has a good outcome.I as a medical student can't imagine the sacrifices you have made and I am very happy that this exists.

Angel S.

[abramovevelyn]

dear Dr. Burke

i watch all of your surgeries and you never cease to amaze and inspire me to pursue my dream of becoming a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon

i look up to you and your complete devotion to saving the lives of children

i hope one day i could be half as great of a surgeon as you

you truly are amazing

[lanaaw1]

i have the same thing

[FFchol0812]

bcoz its been more than 15 days since she was intubated and reintubated again just 2 days ago..she had seizures..the family refused to be admitted at the icu bcoz of financial incapacity..is there still a chance that this baby will recover?the family is still undecided if they'd go for a tracheotomy procedure...tnx a lot...

ur response is highly appreciated

[FFchol0812]

hello doctor i just have some basic questions here for a cardiologist...my friend's daughter right now is at the hospital for quite sometime..she had a staph pneumonia case led to meningitis and she has a congenital heart defect still to rule out vsd..hours ago as i visited, her heart rate started to decline range of 85-103 but her Sa02 is above 90% (connected to t-piece) w/ 02 2L/min...so here's my ?, having a slow heart rate is it an indication that her daughter is declining?....cont..

[davidNtonya]

Does this baby have a genetic condition that caused the CHD?

[ApricotFieldsLove]

How is this related to Miley Cyrus though?

[LindseyLives15]

I haven't watched the video yet, but I will. My concerns right now are about what my little granddaughter is going through since her surgery, and if it is ALL truly what they keep saying is "to be expected" or if it is just their way of avoiding a mass hysteria from the family! Little Hailey was born in march, a month early, and only weighed 2lbs, 10 oz. She's had her surgery, but I am very concerned about ALL the complications. A new one every day! Where can I find out what is "normal" ?

[Redmond111]

@LindseyLives15 I'm sorry about your granddaughter, sounds like you love her a lot, and are very worried about her, as I would be. Premature babies are a bit tougher to care for, but they can do very well. As a surgeon, I can tell you we don't consider any complication to be normal. We strive to achieve complete repairs in the most complex lesions, in the most premature babies, with no complications. If you're having numerous complications, you need to get some more opinions.

[eclipseyy]

Dr Burke, was this baby thymectomized?

[Redmond111]

@eclipseyy We routinely remove the body of the thymus to open the upper mediastium for arch repair. We leave enough thymic tissue to allow for thymic recovery and function.

[PauleQueenie]

Dr Burke, may I ask how many paediatric cardiac surgery you practice in a year?

And have you noticed a change in paediatric cardiac surgery with the premature births survival?

[Redmond111]

@PauleQueenie We perform between 250 and 300 open heart repairs each year. Many factors influence the volume of newborn surgery, including factors you have mentioned. As neonatal care improves, more premature babies can survive to heart surgery. As fetal diagnosis improves, we see a dual effect, some families choosing to terminate pregnancy, and others having the opportunity to search for the best team to care for their coming baby.

[PauleQueenie]

@Redmond111, thank you for you answer Dr Burke. If I may ask another question, is it more difficult to perform heart surgery on premature babies due to the immaturity of their organs in general (lungs and brain)? Or would you as a surgeon and surgical team, wait (when possible) for babies to be older, even if this implies more complex heart surgery and perhaps increasing associated physiological problems?

[mairhenshieller]

nice, keep up the good work ^^

[Redmond111]

@mairhenshieller Thanks for the encouragment, we'll keep trying. Sincerely, Redmond Burke MD