Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a congenital heart defect in which the wall that separates the upper heart chambers (atria) does not close completely. Congenital means the defect is present at birth. They now feel it is best to repair it before it starts to cause a problem with her heart function. The Dr wants to talk to the surgeon to see if she is big enough to repair it with a Cath instead of open heart surgery. If she is big enough (which he thinks she is) he wants it done before winter. If she is too small he said we can wait until early spring to see if she has grown enough for the Cath. If she is not big enough they will decide what to do then. They would really like to avoid surgery so that they do not cause any disturbance with her development. A longer recovery would mean a delay in her learning.
He doesn't believe this is related to her growth so we shouldn't expect anything on that end of things but anything can happen. Of course there are risks with this procedure as with any but they seem to be minimal. He said one thing they worry about is if the patch will then cause her heart valves to not work properly. If this happens they will have to remove the patch. The other risk is the patch falling out of place and getting lodged in the heart. If this happens they will have to open her chest to remove it.
She will have to be put under anesthetic for this so the GI Dr may try to do a procedure at the same time. She wants to check to see if her reflux has caused any severe damage to her esophagus. Since she has to be under for this as well, she wants to avoid doing it too much.
