Heart murmur in toddler due to hole in heart

[JASK]

Hello I would like some advice...

Ever since my child was born she was diagnosed with a heart murmur. Dr saw a small hole in her heart..They said she would outgrow it. We have been going every year for checkups to a pediatric cardiologist. Now she is close to 4 years old and we went for our annual checkup. The dr confirmed that it looks likes she's going to need surgery...

But my question is since she shows no signs or symptoms relating to this heart murmur does she really need this surgery?? I heard all over the net that a child can lead into adulthood before they are clear of this and can be repaired on its own over time, is this true? Does she really need to undergo this procedure? She is on the petite side, she is part of a twin and her brother weighs more than my daughter of course..but we figured because shes a girl shes on the petite side...

any advice anyone can give me would be great..

should we wait this out to see if she the hole in her hearts closes on it own? If she shows so symptoms does that mean she has an innocent murmur?

Thanks.

[grendslori]

hello and welcome to this forum. I cannot add anything to what the previous poster has written; understand that many children go through these types of proceedures every day across tis country and do perfectly well. You need to listen to your daughter's pediatric cardiologist as he has the ability to see your daughter and to listen to her heart; that's how he makes his evaluation. Take cre.  

[DrSteeg]

I am a retired pediatric cardiologist and former director of a pediatric cardiology program at a major medical center.

Although many patent ductus's close spontaneously, if they do not, then closure is generally recommended because of the risk of possible infection at the site of the abnormality.  It is always hard to convince a parent that the risk of closure is far less than the risk of the ductus remaining open.  It is not heart surgery - the patent ductus is not part of the heart, but is a small blood vessel connecting two major arteries coming out of the heart that is always present in the fetus, but is supposed to go away soon after birth.

These days, ductus arteriosus is usually closed without surgery.  It is generally closed using a form of non-surgical intervention called "catheter closure."  This can be carried out at most major medical centers having physicians who have expertise in this technique.  It is rare for a ductus to require actual surgery.

[Supriya1]

Hello dr can u plz reply me my baby boy was born with preauricular tags n dr suggested us for echo n found 3mm os asd on 6th day after his birth..can u plz tell ll it close naturally?

[specialmom]

Hi there.  Have you gotten your daughter in for follow up?  What are the doctors telling you is next step?  

[JASK]

ok Annie thanks for your help! She is going to be 4 now..and the dr said they should of closed it 1 1/2 ago but the drs wanted to monitor her. but now shes almost 4 and they want to take the route of surgery. Just a nervous wreck thinking of a 4 yr old undergoing surgery

[AnnieBrooke]

According to the material from the National Institutes of Health that I saw about this condition, if it's going to close on its own, it most commonly does so by age 2.  I think I wouldn't question the doctor, there are too many risks in leaving it open.  If you are unsure, ask for a second opinon.  Good luck.

[JASK]

the dr said she has Patent ductus arteriosus...

[AnnieBrooke]

I don't know how things are in all cases, but there is a risk of a brain infection from some kinds of holes in the heart.  Ask the doctor.  There is a kind of situation where the unfiltered blood cross-connects within the heart and gets into vessels that are only supposed to have filtered blood, or something like that.  I'm doing a bad job of describing the situation, but it happened to my nephew.  He had to have brain surgery, and then heart surgery.  They didn't know he had a hole in his heart, and he was going along fine and then suddenly got ill at age 8 and it was almost life-threatening in about a weekend.  Please listen to your doctor and go with his advice, whether or not you see symptoms.