Medical Reports: Healing Hearts

WSVN -- You certainly wouldn't know it by looking at her, but three-year-old Jade Hadjerioua had a serious heart condition.

Crystal Forray-Hadjerioua: "I knew she was tired and always took really long naps, but I just thought I was a really lucky mother."

At first, doctors found a small hole in her heart.

Crystal Forray-Hadjerioua: "Then within a period of six months it grew from a very small hole to an extremely large hole."

Doctors at the cardiac center at Joe Dimaggio Children's Hospital say holes in the heart that don't close by themselves can lead to problems later in life.

Dr. Kak-Chen Chan: "You would develop what we would call heart failure with time."

Since the hole in Jade's heart was getting bigger, it needed to be closed. Normally treatment would include dangerous open-heart surgery.

Dr. Kak-Chen Chan: "To close a hole in the heart we would have to use a heart lung machine. We would have to stop the heart for a few minutes. For the surgeons to work inside the heart and to restart the heart."

But this time, doctors were able to close the hole without surgery. They went through the groin to get to the heart, then used a parachute type device to close the hole. The procedure takes about an hour and patients only need to stay one night in the hospital.

Crystal Forray-Hadjerioua: "She wasn't in pain when she woke up. She didn't have tubes coming out of everywhere."

In fact, Jade was laughing, coloring and playing the same day. Doctors say the procedure was a success and Jade's heart is strong. Her mom sees a bright future ahead for her daughter.

Crystal Forray-Hadjerioua: "She wants to be a rock star, but hopefully she will go into medicine and help other kids like that."

Richard Lemus: "Jade will have to be monitored every couple of years until she is an adult, but doctors say her prognosis is excellent."

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Joe Dimaggio Children's Hospital
The Cardiac Center
1150 North 35th Avenue
Suite 575
Hollywood, FL 33021
Tel: (954) 985-3437
www.mhs.net