On Tuesday, Da Nang’s Hoan My Hospital announced that surgery had been successfully performed in the hospital to save the life of a 12-year-old local girl who had suffered a type A aortic dissection.

Surgery in progress

The 6-hour operation was performed by the hospital’s doctors with the help of some surgeons from the Ha Noi Heart Hospital.

On 30 November, the girl was rushed to the hospital in a very critical condition.  She  showed symptoms of congenital heart disease, namely sharp and abrupt chest pains, shortness of breath, and fainting.

In an attempt to save her life, the surgeons successfully applied the Valve Sparing Root Replacement technique (also called the David Procedure, to give credit to the surgeon who initially conceived the operation, Dr Tirone David).   Under this technique, the patient’s aortic valve is kept (although it may be repaired and re-implanted) and reconnected to a new section of aortic tissue.  By preserving the native aortic valve, the patient avoids the need for lifelong anti-coagulation therapy.

An aortic dissection is the most common catastrophe of the aorta, 2-3 times more common than a rupture of the abdominal aorta.  When left untreated, about 33% of patients die within the first 24 hours, and 50% die within 48 hours.  The 2-week mortality rate approaches 75% in patients with an undiagnosed ascending aortic dissection.

The child patient has now been discharged from the hospital.