Large PDA - Open Heart Surgery

[Griff93]

Hello,
Our 3 month old daughter has been diagnosed with a very large PDA and is waiting for open heart surgery. Due to the size of the opening, they have said they have to do the surgery through the chest and breaking the breast bone - which is a lot to process but trying to focus on the positives post surgery. Has anyone had a similar experience to this and if so, what was the surgery and post operation recovery like?

No direct experience as I was very fortunate that my PDA was small and closed on its own. About 10 members of my family have had this surgery as babies (most are in their 50s and 60s now, and the youngest is 3) due to a genetic issue causing PDA. None of them have had any lasting problems

https://www.tinytickers.org/support-info/ is a good website for help and info for parents of babies with cardiac issues.

Wishing your DD a smooth recovery

My granddaughter had this surgery aged 3. It was long, around three hours, but she came out of it amazingly well. The most difficult part was trying to stop her from racing around during her recovery! She's 11 now, and very proud of her "zipper"! (scar).

Your daughter will be in the best possible hands; sending lots of love to you all xx