Three-stage surgery for congenital heart defect Date: December
26, 2011 At 12 weeks of pregnancy, Jenni Wilson had a fetal
echocardiography, which indicated that her baby had a congenital
heart defect. Further testing revealed that the baby had
tricuspid atresia and would be born with three heart chambers
instead of four. The right ventricle was missing. While such a
prenatal diagnosis can be very difficult for prospective
parents, it also can be lifesaving. “Prenatal diagnosis allows
us to help families wrap their mind around the diagnosis, make
pregnancy decisions and plan for delivery and care, including
therapeutic strategies in the neonatal intensive care unit,”
says Priya Sekar of the Hopkins Fetal Cardiology Program.
Wilson’s daughter, Elliana, was born at Johns Hopkins. Since her
congenital heart disease was known ahead of time, the NICU staff
was ready to care for her immediately, including administering
IV prostaglandin to keep her ductus arteriosus open. Cardiac
surgeon Luca Vricella was prepared t