Dr. Gordon Cohen and Dr. Tom Jones
Alethea Bloedel's primary-care physician couldn't figure out just what was wrong. The baby's skin was still dusky at 6 weeks and that's not a good sign. Suspecting a heart problem, she had the newborn examined by several doctors.
The diagnosis was startling: the two main arteries leaving Alethea's heart were crossed and pumping blood in the wrong direction. Left untreated, most children with this condition die before their first birthday.
Though correctable through surgery, it's best to act within a baby's first three weeks before the heart chambers weaken from lack of proper use. Unfortunately, Alethea was twice that age by the time she was diagnosed.
Alethea was quickly transferred to Children's, the only hospital in the region that has the staff, expertise and equipment to handle such difficult cases.
After her delicate open-heart surgery, Alethea was placed on a ventricular assist device (VAD), a partial artificial heart that kept her body functioning until her heart was able to function on its own.
A team of perfusionists stayed by Alethea's side round the clock for three days to monitor and operate the VAD while she recovered.
Today, VAD is the last thing Matthew Bloedel thinks about when he looks at his healthy daughter.
“She's like any other child,” says Bloedel, “She just has a big scar on her chest.”
Evening the Score
It's not fair that 1 in every 100 children are born with a heart defect. But, at Seattle Children's, our job is to even the score.
Drs. Gordon Cohen and Tom Jones, pediatric heart experts, are bringing the latest advances to our patients.
Dr. Jones is an internationally respected expert in pediatric cardiac catheterization and a pioneer in developing new treatments.
Many conditions that once required heart surgery can now be treated using cardiac catheterization procedures. These procedures are less painful and have shorter recovery times than surgical treatments for the same conditions. Children are often able to go home the same day.
While many heart defects can now be fixed with cardiac catheterization procedures, some conditions still require surgery.
Dr. Cohen, chief of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, uses leading-edge technology, innovation and skill to treat a wide range of heart defects. Surgeries range from the simple, such as closing a hole, to the complex, such as switching vessels.
Whether using less invasive procedures or performing delicate surgery, our focus is to give our patients a second chance at a healthy childhood.
Learn more about the Heart Center.