1.What is tetralogy of Fallot?
Tetralogy of Fallot is the most common type of cyanotic precordial disease surgery, which refers to the combined cardiac malformation of pulmonary orifice stenosis, ventricular septal defect, aortic riding span and right ventricular hypertrophy. The stenosis is mostly in the funnel, but also in the pulmonary valve or pulmonary artery annulus and trunk; the former two are often present in combination called mixed stenosis.
2.What are the risks of tetralogy of Fallot?
The effects on patients are mainly manifested in.
1, cyanosis, neonatal cyanosis, especially when crying is significant, and worsens year by year, the child begins to walk, easy shortness of breath, like squatting;
2, the child’s right heart burden increases, the venous pressure increases, due to right to left shunt, arterial blood hypoxia, the whole body organs oxygen supply is not enough, resulting in functional damage, easy to lead to the child’s developmental delay, need to do surgery within one year old.
3.How can parents detect Tetralogy of Fallot early?
There is no cyanosis around the age of half a year, and the following are generally recommended: newborns need to be routinely examined, and general patients can be detected by ultrasound.
For children with severe disease, there are usually related symptoms, for example, cyanosis, and squatting after the child can walk, and those with these conditions need to be considered for tetralogy of Fallot.
If the child cries a lot in the early stage of life, does not eat milk, and has slow development, it should be considered to be a tetralogy of Fallot and needs to be examined in the hospital as soon as possible.
4.Can children live normally after surgery for Tetralogy of Fallot?
Generally, they can live normally. There are some differences according to the typing, for example, for mild and moderate patients, there is no difference between post-operative life and ordinary children, for severe patients, there are some differences, mainly according to the patient’s pulmonary valve valve development, there will be cardiac insufficiency, shortness of breath, abdominal distension and general swelling.
5.What tests are needed for tetralogy of Fallot?
Routine tests, cardiac ultrasound, electrocardiogram, chest X-ray, and right heart catheterization.
However, since this test requires general anesthesia and is expensive (about 3,000 yuan), it is generally not the first choice and is only used when there are difficulties in diagnosis by other methods.
6.What kinds of surgery are available for tetralogy of Fallot?
For mild to moderate patients, radical surgery can be performed, and for severe patients, 2-stage surgery is required to do radical treatment. If the disease is more severe, radical surgery will not have much effect, so palliative surgery is needed
7. What is the approximate cost of the surgery?
The cost is around 4W, which may vary according to the patient’s specific situation and the region where the surgery is performed.
8.What should I do if my sternum bulges after surgery for Tetralogy of Fallot?
The sternum bulge is because the child itself needs a lot of calcium during the development process.
9.What is the problem of sputum after surgery?
The pulmonary artery is poorer, the pulmonary blood flow increases, the exudation increases, and the symptoms of phlegm appear, this symptom appears after the lag does not need to panic, and can be solved with medicine.
10.What should I do if my child’s heart still has a murmur after surgery?
It is normal to have murmurs after surgery, and these murmurs usually do not disappear for a lifetime, unless the disease is combined with other diseases, or not at all.
11.Do I need to follow up regularly after surgery?
Regular follow up is needed after surgery. After heart surgery, it is usually once in 3 months, once in 6 months and once in a year, and one year after surgery, it is also necessary to return to the previous surgery hospital for a comprehensive examination.
12.Can I take vaccination after the surgery?
Yes, but it will take about three months until after full recovery.
13.The indications for surgery
The McGoon index is greater than 1.2, 2.NAKATA index is greater than 150, and the left ventricular volume index is greater than 30. These can be measured by cardiac ultrasound. If the above three indices are reached, there is no doubt that it can be cured. If not, it proves that the pulmonary vascular development is poor or the left ventricular development is problematic, B-T surgery can be performed first to promote pulmonary vascular development, and then the second stage of radical treatment can be performed after the above three indices are reached.