Heart surgery VSD

[GrumpyLovegood]

DD7 has a small vsd (hole in her heart) which has been monitored since birth.
It has never gotten smaller and shows no signs of closing on its own.
A few days ago she had her annual check up and the consultant said that the left side of her heart shows some slight enlargement but otherwise the hole remains small, it is not near a valve and she has no concerns about it. DD is not affected at all by it.
But she has decided to refer dd for a second opinion with a view to intervening, via surgery, to close the hole.
Since the appointment I have, of course, been googling and I cannot find any info regarding closing a small vsd during childhood.
It seems that intervention is only indicated when the hole is medium/large and it always takes place in infancy or before age 18mnths.
I can’t understand why the consultant has decided to refer dd, based on her feedback on the day of the checkup.
The nurse specialist saw us afterwards and told me to have a read about catheterisation procedures as this would probably be the surgery used.
I have done, but still can’t find anything about older children having this procedure when the hole remains small.
DD is adopted and her birth mother died young from cardiac issues but I have no details about that and neither does her consultant. Could this be the reason?
The consultant said that as DD gets older and it shows no sign of closing, she would like to “just get rid of it” and is seeking a second opinion on this.

Has anyone any experience of an older child undergoing heart surgery to close a vsd?
Im happy to take her for the second opinion (although the CNS said it will be a long long appointment, and it is in another city) but I am curious if this is more common than Google suggests.
Thankyou.

Hi,

I don’t have experience of this however my little girl has a small to moderate vsd and excellent cardiac function. However every year they say no not this year for surgery as it’s a wait and see as the heart grows. With her we are seeing if it impacts her valve as it is close to the valve. What I have read is this is rare so to do surgery is sometimes ‘much a do about nothing’ but then it can occur and so if it does that’s when we would do surgery. I half expect at some point she will have surgery so will be nice if She doesn’t if you see what I mean. If there are any cardiac changes I suspect we will be in the same boat as you.

forgot to add She is 3.5 years old and we have known about this since 4 weeks old

if you go to google scholar and search for vsd closure pediatric a whole lot of studies come up that may help you.

I think its great she has been referred for a second opinion, why dont you pull together a written list of questions for the consultant, include things like what symptoms trigger the need for vsd closure, what are the short and long term risks of the procedure, what are the short and long term benefits of the proceedure. What is her current cardiac status, has it changed, if so why has it changed. Is there a possibility of watchful waiting and what does that entail etc etc

I had this surgery done myself when I was 8. It was done through my groin using a catheter so no scars or anything. I was in hospital for 2 days and now 30 and never had any further issues. I go back now every 2 years for a check up but this is only as it was so long ago. After the operation I was seen again after 6 months- put to sleep just so they could put a camera down and check all was okay- was out on the same day. I then had annual checks until I was 12. My checks again didn't start until I was around 23 xx

I will also add that I did have symptoms so struggled with growth and putting weight on, would faint a lot, lips would go blue when cold. My heart was also enlarged but this did all resolve after surgery x

They may be closing it because while it is small it is starting to cause enlargement which can lead to weakening of the muscle.

Cardiac catheterization is a minor, usually day, procedure and has relatively quick recovery time.

Scary nonetheless but not major surgery any more thankfully.