Our Baby Alex

When Alex was 3 days old he was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. After arriving home from the hospital we took him to visit our pediatrician. She detected a significant heart murmur. She brought in another pediatrician to confirm what she was hearing. They got us an appointment at Children's Heart Clinic in Minneapolis that afternoon. Alex had an echocardiogram which is like an ultrasound of the heart. The tech was performing the ultrasound and the cardiologist Dr Wright came in and for about 25 mintues they were taking images of all angles of his heart. Alex has had 3 appointments with the cardiologist and his case is not very severe, but it will require him to have heart surgery to repair the defect at about 6 months of age. His oxygen levels have always been good, so there is not a need to do the surgery sooner. They want him to be about 17 lbs when he has the surgery. We anticipate the surgery will occur sometime after Labor Day.

Frequently asked questions

How long will Alex be in the hospital?

The Doctor said he will be in the hospital about a week with 2-3 weeks of aftercare at home before he can return to day care.

Will Alex have exercise limitations?
The Doctor said he might have some minor exercise restrictions. However, he expects that he should be able to live a full, nearly normal life. Alex will need to see a cardiologist for yearly check-ups. Olympic Snowboarder Shaun White has Tetralogy of Fallot.


What is Tetralogy of Fallot?

Tetralogy of Fallot / TOF is a cardiac anomaly that refers to a combination of four related heart defects that commonly occur together. The four defects include:

1. Pulmonary stenosis (narrowing of the pulmonary valve and outflow tract or area below the valve, that creates an obstruction (blockage) of blood flow from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery
   
2. Ventricular septal defect / VSD (a hole in his heart between the left and right ventricle)
   
3. Overriding aorta (the aortic valve is enlarged and appears to arise from both the left and right ventricles instead of the left ventricle as occurs in normal hearts)
   
4. Right ventricular hypertrophy (thickening of the muscular walls of the right ventricle, which occurs because the right ventricle is pumping at high pressure)

For more information on TOF

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=11071

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/heart-encyclopedia/anomalies/tof.htm