HEART
CENTER
Diagnosed
at 3 months,
dilated
cardiomyopathy
When Leanny’s parents
brought their daughter home from the hospital, she seemed to be
a healthy, happy baby. Then Leanny’s health took a dramatic
turn. Within 3 months, she was fighting for her life at
Texas
Children's Heart Center.
Leanny’s problem started with an upset stomach and fussiness
that lasted a few days. Soon she was unable to eat, was vomiting
and had a noticeably pale color. Her worried mom took her to the
emergency room at Conroe Regional Medical Center.
Doctors diagnosed her with pneumonia, but the following day,
they realized the problem was more complex and arranged for a
helicopter to transport Leanny to Texas Children's Hospital.
There, cardiac specialists told Leanny’s parents that she had a
serious heart problem called dilated cardiomyopathy. It meant
that her heart was enlarged – particularly the left ventricle –
and was too weak to pump blood to the body’s organs. The parents
were shocked to hear that their 3-month-old baby needed a heart
transplant.
With a failing heart, time was not on the baby’s side. Her
doctors recommended that Leanny have a Berlin Heart, a pump
developed in Germany, implanted. It could be attached to her
heart by tubes and assist her circulation. The device, which
rests outside the body, could support Leanny’s heart and buy her
more time as she waited for a donor heart to become available.
Dr. David Morales, pediatric heart surgeon, implanted Leanny
with the Berlin Heart during an 8-hour operation.
The device improved Leanny’s circulation, and she grew stronger
each day. She was able to be an active baby and meet milestones
such as crawling and standing alone. By the time she received a
donor heart 4 months later, she was a healthy candidate for the
transplant surgery.
Now with a new heart beating in her chest, she can look forward
to normal childhood activities.
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