Blalock Taussig shunt
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| Blalock Taussig shunt |
What is Blalock Taussig shunt
Blalock Taussig shunt is a temporary surgical operation that is performed on newborn babies. Blalock Taussig shunt is done for the reason that the heart is not delivered enough blood enriched with oxygen to the rest of the body. This happens because the defect of heart such as Tetralogy of Fallot, tricuspid atresia, pulmonary atresia and other cyanotic congenital heart defects.
Symptoms
Symptoms that indicate the existence of these diseases are bluish skin, nails and lips. In Blalock Taussig shunt one of the branches of two major arteries is separated and attached with a tube directly to the pulmonary artery. This tube allows the baby to have a smooth flow of blood to the lungs.
Blalock Taussig shunt in preparation for Fontan procedure that comes later but it is very important to the baby after birth has enough oxygen in the blood. This procedure since its foundation is several times modernized but still carries the name of creators a surgeon Alfred Blalock and cardiologist Helen Taussig.
Blalock Taussig shunt the very important because the first time in the history of the medical world has been proven that the heart defect can be repaired.
After Blalock Taussig shunt
After Blalock Taussig shunt patients are prescribed to medications for preventing a clot in the interior of the shunt and the amount depends on the weight of the baby. After Blalock Taussig shunt patient should not dehydrate and if occur frequent passing of loose or watery stools, puking, excessive sweating then you need to contact a doctor. There is a possibility that Blalock Taussig shunt gets clogged and prevent his blood flow, in this case, the patient is going to have a breathing problem and will become cyanotic in that case immediately contact your cardiologist.
After Blalock Taussig shunt procedure a regular visits to your cardiologist is required. The cardiologist will perform echocardiogram of a baby's heart to determine the condition of the heart and the shunt. Because Blalock Taussig shunt is not a permanent surgery and because the baby's heart grows and shunt remains the same, you can expect that your baby will need constant solution and a new operation.
In addition to the above mentioned a thrombosis (formation of a blood clot) is possible and occurrence of seroma formation, after a Blalock Taussig shunt procedure, but very rarely. The presence of a seroma after a Blalock Taussig shunt can be easily seen with the help of a chest radiograph or with the help of echocardiography.