Amidst these dire and sobering COVID-19 times, the Children’s Heart Center (CHC) at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) continues to provide life-saving interventions for patients with Congenital Heart Disease.
On Saturday, April 4, 2020, CHC’s medical team performed a rescue operation on a two-day-old baby girl weighing 3 kg. The baby presented with severe breathing difficulties and bluish discoloration of the skin. She had an almost complete obstruction of the pulmonary heart valve that permits the blood to travel from the heart into the lungs. The baby’s condition was critical, and short of opening the narrowed pulmonary valve, the baby would not have survived.
The CHC team directly took the decision to perform an urgent procedure that included opening the narrowed valve utilizing a balloon catheter in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory without the need for an open-heart surgery. The procedure was successful, and the baby’s life was saved.
The CHC is the only functioning children’s heart center during the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon. Its medical team is committed to providing urgent treatment for children with heart disease during these challenging times.
The Brave Heart Fund supported the treatment of the patient as it has been doing so for thousands of children. Our solidarity, unity (with physical distancing), and commitment towards the most vulnerable, our children, is what helps us survive these unprecedented and difficult times. Stay safe, stay home; and help us help those in need.