At least half of babies born with congenital heart disease each year need heart surgery. Although the cause of congenital heart problems is not known exactly, it has been accepted that some factors are effective in this regard. For example, congenital heart disease in one of the parents or relatives, unconscious drug use, especially in early pregnancy, consanguineous marriage, infectious diseases (rubella), exposure to x-rays of the mother during pregnancy, alcohol use during pregnancy, hormonal disorders of the mother or diabetes mellitus of the mother. Factors such as being sick are some of them. Apart from these, genetic anomalies such as Turner Syndrome or Down Syndrome may be the cause of heart diseases. While most of the childhood heart diseases, for which early diagnosis and treatment are extremely important, can be diagnosed after birth, with today's medical technological systems, most of them can be detected by fetal echocardiography while still in the mother's womb. can also be diagnosed.
Pediatric cardiovascular surgery mainly deals with the diagnosis and treatment of the following diseases:
In order to follow the appropriate treatment process in infants and children, first of all, a correct diagnosis should be made. For this, first the family's history is listened, then a physical examination and some tests that the specialist doctor deems necessary are applied. Some of the frequently applied tests are: Heart electrocardiography: With the help of electrodes attached to the body, the electrical activity of the heart can be seen. Many diseases such as rhythm and conduction problems and thickening of the heart wall can be diagnosed. Cardiac catheterization and angiography: With this test, which is used to check whether the heart is pumping properly, pressure measurement of different areas of the heart, anatomical problems, heart size and position can be monitored. Telecardiography: It is the method used to view the size, appearance and enlargement of the heart. Holter ECG: It is monitored for 24 hours with electrodes attached to the chest. With this method, the heart condition is monitored in cases such as heart rhythm disturbances, sudden shortness of breath, and fainting. Echocardiography: With this method, known as ECO, facts such as the size of the heart chambers, heart valves, intra-cardiac pressure, heart wall movements, and the amount of blood ejected during a contraction Electrophysiology: It is used for palpitations, fainting or rhythm disorders that cannot be detected by other methods. Thin sheaths are placed on the vessels in the neck and inguinal region, and electrode catheters are delivered to the heart. With the signals received directly from the heart, it is evaluated whether the conduction functions are healthy and normal. Color Doppler Echocardiography: It is a method of 2 or 3 dimensional imaging of the heart in color with the help of ultrasonic sound waves. The condition of the heart muscles, the blood flow rate for the heart, structural heart anomalies and the pressure in the cavities of the heart can be measured. This method is also used for the heart condition of the baby in the womb. Images are obtained with a device called a transducer placed on the chest. Exercise Test: It is a test applied by sticking electrodes on the skin in the chest area. Congenital heart diseases, measurement of heart capacity, the stressed state of the heart and symptoms that occur during activity can be observed with this test.
Operations Performed in the Pediatric Cardiovascular Unit