Surgeons first in world to perform open heart surgery on baby mid-delivery
A baby in New York underwent open heart surgery mid-delivery. It is believed to be the first operation of its kind.
ABC News was first to report on the historic heart surgery, which was performed in early January at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Valhalla, New York. The network spoke with the young patient’s parents, Megan Wild and Luciano Reynaga.
The baby, named Luciano after his father, presented with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare congenital heart defect that often requires multiple procedures to be performed in the child’s first few years of life. This was an especially severe case, however, prompting the family’s medical team to move forward with the EXIT procedure. EXIT involves the baby being partially delivered and then undergoing additional procedures as necessary while still being attached to the umbilical cord. In this instance, open heart surgery was the operation required mid-delivery.
Six weeks later, young Luciano is recovering well.
"It was successful, and also should open the pathway for other babies who have similar problems,” Sameh Said, MD, the hospital’s chief of pediatric heart surgery, told ABC News.
Click the link below for additional details on this historic heart surgery:
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.