The baby, weighing 2.9kg, was born at 9:17am on January 30. (Photo: VNA) The baby wasdelivered on January 30 via Caesarean section, evoking emotional responses fromthe medical team. This birth marked a significant milestone not only in Vietnam,but also stands as the first instance of successful foetal heart surgery inSoutheast Asia.
Nguyen ThiThanh Huong, Deputy Director of Children's Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City,reported that the surgery lasted 25 minutes. Post-birth, the neonatal intensivecare team from Tu Du Hospital and the Neonatology Department of Children'sHospital 1 assessed the baby's condition. Fortunately, the baby exhibitedpromising signs of health with an SpO2 level of 89%, breathing independently.
"I havenever felt such emotions in the operating room. This case is remarkable,surpassing the expectations of the medical team. The baby cried loudly uponbirth," said Huong.
Initially,doctors anticipated the need for immediate oxygen supplementation post-birth.However, direct ultrasound imaging during the surgery revealed excellent bloodflow through the narrowed pulmonary artery, eliminating the immediate need forintervention in the early stages of life.
After birth,the baby will undergo continuous monitoring and evaluation at the NeonatalIntensive Care Unit at Children's Hospital 1 in HCM City. Experts will reassessthe situation and plan for the baby's long-term treatment.
Tran Ngoc Hai,Director of the Tu Du Hospital and the lead surgeon, highlighted the baby'snormal breathing and skin-to-skin contact with the mother after cutting theumbilical cord. The successful pregnancy reached 37 weeks and 4 days.
"Doctorswere very emotional. Cases of infants without pulmonary artery valves areusually very severe, with a poor prognosis. But today, the baby was born verywell. The progress of neonates will change every hour, and we will closelymonitor," Hai explained.
The mother'sdetermination served as motivation for the entire medical team.
"I wasdeeply moved when I saw the mother lying on the operating table, tearsstreaming down. This is the result of the mother's courage, and herdetermination is the motivation for the entire team because this is the firstcase in Vietnam. Although we prepared everything to ensure safety, the family'sdetermination and the mother's courage were the driving force for the entireteam," said Huong.
On January4, doctors in HCM City successfully performed fetal cardiac surgery on thebaby, then a 32-week-old foetus with congenital heart defects. This marked thefirst instance of prenatal heart surgery in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, makingthe dream of saving a child with congenital heart defects within the mother'swomb a reality for Vietnamese doctors.
According toexperts, the technique of foetal heart surgery has only developed in the lastfive years, with successful procedures performed in Brazil and Poland.
The mother,a 28-year-old woman from central Da Nang city, upon detectingabnormalities in the foetus’s heart, was transferred for observation toHCM City. At the Tu Du Hospital, at 26 weeks of pregnancy, doctors decidedto intervene during a critical period and went through three consultations.
By 32 weeksand five days of pregnancy, the baby's life was at risk. Urgentconsultation with Children's Hospital 1 concluded that immediate prenatalintervention to dilate the pulmonary artery valve was necessary, or the foetuscould face death in the womb. If born immediately, the baby could encounterlife-threatening complications shortly after delivery.
Director of theTu Du Hospital Tran Ngoc Hai emphasised that prenatal intervention is an urgentsolution to save the life of a foetus still in the womb. The success rate ofintervention within the womb is higher than after birth, as the foetus has aremarkable mechanism for self-healing without leaving scars, thanks to stemcells.
Large specialisedhospitals in HCM City are planning to establish teams for anaesthesia inadults, prenatal intervention, cardiac catheterisation, and neonatal intensivecare for emergency C-sections. These teams will be prepared to perform foetalsurgery and childbirth if complications arise.
On January4, doctors initiated foetal heart intervention at 9:05am, utilising an 18Gneedle for nearly 40 minutes. Subsequent ultrasound results revealed good bloodflow through the foetus's pulmonary artery valve, with no fluid leakage aroundthe heart. The mother was safely discharged on January 8./.
VNA
