Hospital in Nghe An successfully 'patches heart' of Laotian girl

In early December 2023, Nat Sa (2 years old) was brought by her parents from Kham Keut district, Bolikhamxay (Laos) to Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital for examination and treatment of congenital heart disease. This disease was discovered by doctors in the neighboring country when Nat Sa was a baby, however, surgical treatment of congenital heart disease is still limited, so doctors in the neighboring country advised the parents to bring their child to Vietnam for treatment when the child is healthy and has enough weight.

The child was given an echocardiogram, electrocardiogram and a full examination to assess his overall condition. After a hospital-wide consultation, the doctors decided to perform surgery to correct the child's congenital heart defect: closing the ventricular septal defect measuring 7.5x5.3mm.

Heart surgery is risky and expensive, as the patient does not have health insurance to cover the cost. Therefore, the surgical team has taken great care in ensuring the safety of the surgery, minimizing costs, and maximizing savings for the patient.

On December 13, 2023, baby Nat Sa underwent minimally invasive heart surgery through the armpit, without having to open the sternum, limiting damage and ensuring the child's future aesthetics. With careful and thoughtful preparation by the entire surgical team, after more than 3 hours, the ventricular septal defect repair surgery was successful, everything in the surgery went well as planned.

The patient was then transferred to the Department of Surgical Intensive Care for isolation and post-operative recovery. The child's health gradually stabilized, and the baby was transplanted to the mother and continued to be monitored and treated. After more than 2 weeks of surgery, with the dedicated care of the doctors and nurses, Nat Sa's health gradually stabilized and she was discharged from the hospital to the joy of her family.

“Coming from Laos to Vietnam for treatment, our family encountered many difficulties due to the language barrier, as well as not having relatives or friends nearby to help. But fortunately, the doctors treated us wholeheartedly, as well as regularly cared for and visited our child, supporting our family throughout the past time. There is nothing happier than seeing our child being treated by Vietnamese doctors and getting healthy. The family thanks the Vietnamese doctors very much,” Mr. Santisut Keothavone - Nat Sa’s father emotionally shared through an interpreter on the day his daughter was discharged from the hospital./.