Joshua’s story: Advances in medical management of pediatric heart failure

In recent years, the Boston Children’s Hospital Heart Failure team has made significant strides in slowing the progress of heart failure in children. In some cases, disease progression has been slowed enough for the patient to be taken off of the heart transplant list for being “too well.” The following is part four of a four-part series featuring  Boston Children’s Heart Center patients who were once listed for transplant but were removed thanks to successful medical management of his heart disease. Surgery before birth Joshua Brennan, now 12, was diagnosed with complex congenital heart disease (CHD) in utero. At his mother’s 20-week ultrasound, the prognosis was devastating: half of Joshua’s tiny heart was non-functional. His parents, Kim and Tom, began furiously researching their options. By luck, they connected with a doctor who had just heard about what Boston Children’s was doing in the field of fetal cardiac interventions. The Brennans quickly called the Boston Children’s Heart Center and in no time, left their home in Pawling, NY for Boston to see if Dr. Wayne Tworetsky, director of the Fetal Cardiology Program, thought Joshua was a candidate for the procedure. He was. Soon after, Joshua was one of the first in the world to have heart surgery before birth. The procedure, an aortic valve dilation, reset the developmental course of Joshua’s left heart and salvaged enough function for it to pump normally after he was born.  A surprise diagnosis ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Our Patients’ Stories congenital heart disease Dr. Tajinder Singh Dr. Wayne Tworetsky heart failure Heart transplant program Source Type: news