Congenital Heart Disease: Advanced Treatment for Children and Adults

The Olvera family has experienced an incredible odyssey into the world of congenital heart disease. First, Gabriel (now 11) was first diagnosed with a heart defect before birth and underwent a procedure in utero to open up an artery narrowed by aortic stenosis. Five surgeries followed, primarily to repair or replace his struggling aortic and mitral valves. His mother Anna was also diagnosed with adult congenital heart disease nine years after Gabriel’s birth. She had an “anomalous origin of the right coronary artery” and underwent an unroofing procedure to allow blood to flow to her heart unobstructed.

Both Gabriel and Anna have benefited tremendously from the expertise of the pediatric and adult congenital heart disease team at Phoenix Children’s, which brings together experts in maternal-fetal medicine, neonatology, cardiology, congenital heart disease, radiology, general surgery, genetics, neurology, palliative care, perinatal pathology, and maternal psychology and psychiatry. Gabriel continues to be monitored regularly under the watchful eye of Christopher Lindblade, MD, medical director of the Fetal Cardiology Program. Anna is cared for by Wayne Franklin, MD, co-director of the hospital’s Heart Center.

https://phoenixchildrens.org/blog/2022/02/olvera-family-responds-complex-congenital-heart-disease-grace-empathy