3 month old needing surgery for large VSD

[LouiseU]

Does anyone have any experience of this surgery? Murmur was picked up at 6 week check and hole confirmed at st Thomas's a couple of days ago. Surgery expected to be in a few weeks. She's always been small (5lbs 4oz at full term) and is only 9lbs now, probably due to the VSD so I know it needs fixed but it is still a scary thing for one so small. She's a smiley happy baby but I'm now getting paranoid about everything from breathing heavily to not feeding enough or looking pale. Open heart surgery just sounds so drastic but I'm assured this is as routine as such things get.

Hi Louise, my son had a large VSD closed at the Evelina last year. Feel free to PM me if you would like details about procedure/things to take etc.
Cheers

My daughter had a large PDA that was confirmed at 6 weeks. She also was low birth weight (5lb at term) and then struggled to gain weight. We were in Bristol Children's when she was 7 months old and were lucky enough that they managed to close the duct via catheter. She's now nearly 2 and a bundle of energy. I still worry about her (always will I think), but we have regular check ups and are slowly unwrapping the cotton wool that we wrapped her up in as a baby!
Here to hold your hand or answer any questions.

Hi Louise, my DD had open heart surgery 6 months ago to correct a large VSD (and some other things) I can't tell you not to worry, because you will. But what I can tell you is that you will probably be feeling much worse than your DD. Children deal amazingly well with surgery and the recovery and you and your dd are in the best of hands. It is good that it is being done whilst she is still so young. If you need any practical advice or just someone to vent your worries to do not hesitate to ask :)

Good luck and hope everything goes well for you and your DD!