Sarah_Louise
Well-known member
Hi eveyone,
18 years ago today I was in theatre having my very first open heart surgery, my 'truncus repair', at the time I was 13 weeks old, my mam and dad were told my heart was no bigger than a walnut and the op was very complicated and high risk.
Truncus arterisosis means when i was born rather than having a pulmonary artery and a aorta, i had a thick hollow tube, meaning i didn't have a pulmonary valve and my aortic valve wasnt fully formed, i also had a large hole called a VSD between both my ventricles, and rather than having the hollow tube coming out of the left pumping ventricle mine came out of my right ventricle, during this op, they constructed the hollow tube to make my aorta, and repaired my aortic valve, they then fitted a conduit/homograft that came from a 13 lb baby (thats all i know) to make my pulomnary vessle and fitted a pulmonary valve, they closed the VSD, and moved the aorta to the left ventricle rather than my right, and construced the pulmonary vessles into the right ventricle, My consultant told my parents, there was only a few patients who had undergone the truncus repair, and the oldest person in the world with truncus was only 10 at the time, but Mr Hamilton and Dr Wren and the theatre team got me through that op, I can't thank them and the whole team at freeman enough, as without them and there skill i wouldn't be here today! Also thank you to my family especially mam and dad for everything but especially having the courage to give me over to the team to do the op,
I'm still here and still fighting and i have all the confindence in the team at the Freeman to get me through my next op in the next few months,
Love Sarah xxx
18 years ago today I was in theatre having my very first open heart surgery, my 'truncus repair', at the time I was 13 weeks old, my mam and dad were told my heart was no bigger than a walnut and the op was very complicated and high risk.
Truncus arterisosis means when i was born rather than having a pulmonary artery and a aorta, i had a thick hollow tube, meaning i didn't have a pulmonary valve and my aortic valve wasnt fully formed, i also had a large hole called a VSD between both my ventricles, and rather than having the hollow tube coming out of the left pumping ventricle mine came out of my right ventricle, during this op, they constructed the hollow tube to make my aorta, and repaired my aortic valve, they then fitted a conduit/homograft that came from a 13 lb baby (thats all i know) to make my pulomnary vessle and fitted a pulmonary valve, they closed the VSD, and moved the aorta to the left ventricle rather than my right, and construced the pulmonary vessles into the right ventricle, My consultant told my parents, there was only a few patients who had undergone the truncus repair, and the oldest person in the world with truncus was only 10 at the time, but Mr Hamilton and Dr Wren and the theatre team got me through that op, I can't thank them and the whole team at freeman enough, as without them and there skill i wouldn't be here today! Also thank you to my family especially mam and dad for everything but especially having the courage to give me over to the team to do the op,
I'm still here and still fighting and i have all the confindence in the team at the Freeman to get me through my next op in the next few months,
Love Sarah xxx
