Faustus Beeger was born with half a heart active, a disability in principle impossible to overcome.
But thanks a pioneer operation from the Cardiology Center of Munich (Germany), today the baby has turned nine months and evolves well With half the heart.
Although the intervention took place a few months ago, it has not been released until now, once its success has been proven.
When Faustus was born, only one atrium and one ventricle of his heart, a congenital heart disease, that doctors had not seen before, explained Dr. Peter Ewert, director of the Munich hospital.
The small heart carried enough oxygen at birth to the body, but the specialists knew that it could not do so much longer. The problem was that the baby would not survive an open heart surgery, so they opted for a pioneering intervention, which had never been done before in people.
For three hours, and with the help of ultrasound and X-ray screens, surgeons inserted a catheter into the atrium, through the vein of the groin, and another through its jugular vein, into the pulmonary vein. Thus they managed to make the oxygen-rich blood flow directly to the vital organ.
Fanny, Faustus' mother (in the image of the tweet that talks about his case, with him in his arms and Dr. Ewert) has confirmed that your son is fine, although he has to undergo continuous medical checks to observe his evolution in the Pediatric Cardiology Unit of the University of Dresden.
Münchner Ärzte retain den kleinen Faustus: Er kam mit nur einem halben Herzen zur Welt - die Ärzte im Deutschen #Herzzentrum # München wagten einen weltweit einmaligen Eingriff //t.co/KGSDtuUeWo pic.twitter.com/D9K6
- Radio Arabella (@Radio_Arabella) July 12, 2018
Doctors are also very optimistic and have explained that, as he is responding, they think you can play like other children, go to school and even have a life quite similar to that of any other child of his age.
Congenital heart disease
According to the Heart Foundation:
"They are a group of diseases characterized by the presence of structural alterations of the heart caused by defects in the formation of the heart during the embryonic period."
This is the congenital defect with the highest incidence in Spain: it affects an average of eight out of every thousand babies born, which means 4,000 new cases every year.
The case of Faustus and others equally surprising, are clear examples of how fast science advances, making possible what was previously unthinkable. We hope to have many pleasant medical surprises that improve the lives of children, as impressive as these.
Via and photos | Daily Express
