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Child Diagnosed With Atrial Septal Defect. Gaining Weight. Surgery Needed?

Posted on Thu, 7 Mar 2013

Question: HELLO SIR, MY DAUGHTER HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH AN ATRIAL SEPTAL DEFECT 8 MM SIZE.IT WAS IDENTIFIED AT THE AGE OF 1 AND HALF MONTH. HER AGE IS SIX MONTHS NOW AND COMPLETELY ASYMPTOMATIC WITH WEIGHT GAIN DOUBLE HER BIRTH WEIGHT. RIGHT NOW 2D ECHO REPORT SHOWS DILATED RA AND RV WHICH WAS NOT THERE IN THE FIRST CHECKUP. WE WANTED TO KNOW WHAT SHOULD BE THE PLAN OF CARE AND ROLE OF SURGERY

Answered by Dr. Anantharamakrishnan (4 hours later)

Hi friend,
Welcome to Health Care Magic

The best option will be to get the defect closed.
It is highly possible to close without operation - through catheter.
[Over a period of time (long), the right ventricle volume overload may lead to Pulmonary Hypertension]
Discuss with your cardiologist (Paediatric Cardiologist / Invasive)

Take care
Wishing speedy recovery
God bless
Good luck

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Anantharamakrishnan (2 hours later)

Hello sir... thank u 4 answering our question... how long can we wait before going for surgery.? as v have heard that spontaneous closure occurs by 1 year.. so, should we wait for another 6 months ? how will we know if pulmonary hypertension is developing ?

Answered by Dr. Anantharamakrishnan (2 hours later)

Hi,

ASD is small and is less likely to get worse quickly.
Many patients have crossed adolescence without problems..
But in the long term, closure prevents progress and complication.

technique - by the Echocardiogram. It is not possible to predict by clinical examination.
Check again in a month. If there is a rising trend, go for closure. If stable, repeat after 2 or 3 months.
Most likely, surgery may not be necessary / catheter closure is likely feasible

Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar