11. Is there any possibility of healing the precordial heart? In general, precordial heart disease cannot heal on its own and needs to be cured by surgery or interventional methods. However, for ventricular or atrial defects with a caliber of less than 0.5cm, some parents choose to operate due to social factors such as the presence of heart murmurs, which may affect the child’s future education, employment and marriage, and the surgery is very mature nowadays. There are also some small defects, such as ventricular defects in the sub-stem area, which are less than 0.5 cm due to their proximity to the aortic valve, and they also need active surgical treatment. For children with defects larger than 0.5 cm in caliber, surgery is recommended. Dong Nianguo, Department of Cardiac Surgery, Wuhan Union Hospital
12. What is the general hospitalization time for congenital heart disease in our hospital? The general hospitalization time for simple congenital heart disease in our hospital is about 10-13 days, which consists of three stages: preparation before surgery, surgery and postoperative recovery after admission. For children with combined pulmonary hypertension, some of them need to undergo right heart catheterization and dilation treatment before surgery, and for children with complex congenital heart disease such as Fallot’s tetralogy, some of them need to undergo selective cardiovascular imaging before surgery, and the recovery time after surgery is a little longer, so the total hospital stay may be extended accordingly. Other usual parental concerns.
13. What is congenital cosmetic surgery? A cosmetic precordial surgery is a lateral open heart (axillary open heart). Lateral opening is suitable for children with atrial septal defect, arteriovenous ductus arteriosus and partial ventricular septal defect. The sternum needs to be incised for median opening, while the sternum does not need to be incised for lateral opening, so the damage to the thorax is small and the wound is on the side, which does not affect the aesthetics.
14. Will I be less susceptible to colds after surgery? It is still easy to catch a cold within six months after the surgery, which is caused by the decrease of children’s resistance after the surgery. After six months, the number of colds will be significantly less than before the surgery.
15. Is it necessary to remove the “wire” that fixes the thorax after surgery? “No, the wire does not need to be removed, it will not have any effect on the child’s body and growth.