A ventricular septal defect (VSD), often called a hole in the heart, is an opening in the wall between the two lower chambers of the heart. The lungs then receive more blood than they are built to handle, and the heart works harder to compensate. In children the signs can be quiet for years. This boy from Addis Ababa grew slowly, tired within minutes of play and showed a faint blue colour of the lips during exertion.
The defect was found when he was five, when a nurse noticed a murmur during a routine clinic visit and an echocardiogram confirmed a moderate VSD. His cardiologist explained that some moderate VSDs close by themselves as the heart grows, but his was larger, so it was monitored with regular echocardiograms and clinic reviews for about two years. At seven, the pressure in the artery to his lungs rose to a mild to moderate level, and his doctor advised that surgery should not wait any longer.
His mother chose Apollo Children's Hospital in Chennai, where he had VSD closure surgery. The family flew back to Addis Ababa 12 days later. His mother says that three weeks after they came home he ran across the courtyard of their home for the first time in his life.
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This story is shared with the patient's consent.