Transposition of the Great Vessels-Just Found on Ultrasound

I am a neonatal ICU nurse at Children's San Diego. We are the only cardiac surgery unit in San Diego. I see many babies with TGA or transposition of the great arteries come to our unit. There are always extreme risks with any open heart surgery in a neonate, but of ALL of the surgeries for repairing hearts in an infant, this probably has the best recovery rate. It is a overwhelming and a somewhat devastating experience, but babies are AMAZING! They recover so quickly. Who ever you choose to go with for surgery will keep you well informed. You will know all the risks going into the surgery. This is a lifetime of commitment and follow up, but once the surgery is done the heart is essentially fixed. Not sure what other information you are looking for, but feel free to email me back. Good luck and congradulations on the adoption! My first child was adopted.

L.,
My first response was private but after reading what others had to say, I decided to make this one public. My son was born in 1981 with Transpostion of the Great Vessles. He is now 26 happy and healthy. What they do for the kids today was not done back then. He had his open heart surgery when he was 11 months old, they performed "The Mustard Procedure" at the Kaiser in Hollywood. He needed a pacemaker when he was in high school and a new pacemaker just 2 years ago. So yes, technology has come a long way and the kids today heal fast and will live a normal life. Heck, my son's surgery was 25 years ago and he is living a normal life, he is now married and plans his life as if nothing ever happened. Although in my son's case they can not do to him what they do today to the kids that have TGA. Some time in the future he will need a new heart but as time goes on technology gets better and better so who knows what will happen. I called my son to tell him about you and the baby, he too was excited that I was responding to you.
This is a stressful time but know that you are not alone. If there is anything I can do please let me know.
I just wanted to let you and the others know that your children will be fine and can live a healthy life with TGA.
C./Chatsworth

hi, my name is R., i am a mother of 3 beautiful children, my youngest is 4 months and he had transpositon of the great arteries( vessels). he underwent open heart surgery when he was 2 weeks old, and the defect is 100% fixable, being a mom with no idea what that actually meant, i was scared and hopeful at the same time...the procedure is basically just switching the arteries, complicated and long, but fixable. when i had my son we were flown from guam to hawaii, because he wasnt breathing properly and the doctors didnt really know what was wrong...i had many u/s during my pregnancy and this defect is hard to detect unless you suspect a heart problem,so when we arrived in hawaii the day after birth, we were immediately told of his condition, still very emotional,about everything i really thought this was going to end up tragic, but what they did is an emergency procedure called pda, which they would create a hole in which the oxygen and blood can flow properly until he gets surgery...long story short, after a week in hawaii we were flown to san diego where the docs at the childrens hospital were amazing, and i am glad to say that my baby has recovered very well.
It is very normal to be scared but i can reassure you that everything is going to be fine, it's great that the doctors has diagnosed this before the birth. Please if you have any questions or just want to share your thoughts, feel free to contact me, i can give you some advice or just an ear to listen, but again the baby will do just fine, my little one is healthy and his heart is all fixed...i don't think i mentioned this but thinking about the long term effects of this, i was told that my son would live a normal life and shouldnt need further operations, again every baby is different, but technology has come a long way...where are you located, who do you plan on having as your surgeon? i hope to hear back and hopefully i have made you feel alittle better about this. take care. R.

Wow, we really have a lot in common. I am adopted, I have a 4-yr old daughter and my 6 month old son was born with TGA. I can relate to your stress, but the best thing a mother can do is eat right and take care of herself. Also to take the baby as close to term as possible. Be sure to research the surgeon and find one you are comfortable with. As you are adopting, I don't know how much control you can have over any of this. But it doesn't hurt to empower yourself with knowledge.

Of all the heart surgeries to have, this is the most correctable. The biggest worry will be any complications that arise as a result.

If you are in the southern CA area, Hillel Laks at UCLA, was our surgeon. I was induced just down the hall from the NICU. This was good to have in place incase he needed the immediate surgery. Dr. Laks did the open-heart surgery within 5 days.

My son came down with Chylothorax, a common result of open-heart surgeries. But since he was an infant, this is even more probable. Do some research. Be patient with the doctors. It took about two weeks to diagnose and treat him and another three weeks to recover. He was put on Octreotide and given some steroid to pull him out.

Even with a small hole between the arteries its as if he is a normal healthy baby. He now has his monthly appointments with his cardiologist, Dr. Fredric Leong in Oxnard. L. him.

I am a home care RN and have cared for many children who have have transplants and other heart surgeries. Yes TGA is correctable and was one of the first pediatric open heart surgeries to be done and "perfected". I never cease to be amazed at what pediatric cardiac surgeons do. The children are amazing--resilient and heal so well. They probably do better in some ways than the moms and dads who agonize and worry. When ever my kids have had a serious illness(meningitis for at 6 wks old, pneumonias and others) or needed surgery(tonsillectomy), I am a mess! And honestly those don't come close. Hang in there. It is normal to feel everything you are feeling and to worry. Ask questions. Get answers. Decide now on surgeon and hospital (if there is a choice). Can you meet the surgeon and the NICU doctor and staff now??

btw, I was adopted...& loved greatly by my parents. I can't help but think what a miracle both adoption and this surgery is. I hope all works out. Please let us know
((hugs)) and prayers+

i'm 21 and have had 3 surgeries. the main one being an arterial switch. and i've been just fine since. i still have to see a cardiologist every 6 months and watch my fat/cholesterol intake (not to any extreme). just so you know there are varying degrees. i know a little girl who was also born with TGV she's 12 and about to undergo her 5th surgery because of complications. this is a rare case though

I had a daughter with Transpositon and we were shocked. Luckily for you it was detected in utero and they can prepare for surgery right away. Our baby, Mallory was born blue and had a life saving procedure within minutes after birth. Her first open heart surgery was a week later, and we were able in that time to do some research ourselves. All the doctors gave us favorable statiscs and promising outcomes with this heart defect. Unfortunately for us, Mallory suffered many complications and only lived for 3 months. She had her surgery and lived her whole short life in the NICU at Childrens in San Diego. During our time there we saw many babies with the same defect come and go within a week. We also saw many babies survive "worse" cardiac defects and longer hospital stays. I advise you to remain positive, stay informed and just be prepared for any complications that could prolong your babies hospital course. I am sure the outcome will be a good one. Congratulations. I find it interesting that they were able to detect Transpostion on an ultrasound, I was told it could only be detected by a cardiac echo. Good Luck :)

I know of someone who's child was born with this condition. He had surgery in northern California at Stanford. The surgery was successful. My understanding is that he is a very active toddler. I think you could contact Stanford and find out more about the condition and the procedure they do. This child was also born with other birth defects and will have surgeries related to those ahead of him. You are doing the right thing by finding out what you need to
know.~D.