was diagnosed with complex and severe congenital heart disease shortly after he was born. He has been a "purple baby" since he was a child. In the past 32 years, he traveled to many hospitals in Shanxi, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Beijing, and suffered repeated setbacks in seeking medical treatment until he came to Wuhan Asia in June last year. Heart Hospital , Shanxi man Xiao Qin's life finally turned around. Not only did he successfully undergo surgery, but his skin also became rosy.
The pulmonary artery has become a "dead end". Xiao Qin, who has been a "Purple Man" for 32 years, is 33 years old this year. When he was three months old, he was diagnosed with a rare heart malformation - pulmonary atresia (IV), ventricular septal defect . To put it simply, the passage between the ventricle and the pulmonary artery is blocked, and there are holes in the heart where there should not be holes. Among them, pulmonary atresia is fatal. Once the channel between the heart and the pulmonary artery is blocked, blood cannot be transported to the lungs. The blood cannot form an effective circulation and cannot effectively absorb oxygen , which will cause severe hypoxia throughout the body. ultimately life-threatening. According to the development degree of pulmonary blood vessels and the supply of pulmonary blood, pulmonary atresia is often divided into four types (I/II/III/IV). Type IV that Xiao Qin suffered from is the most serious type of pulmonary atresia. The pulmonary artery is like a "dead end", relying only on some small collateral blood vessels to maintain life.
Due to long-term lack of oxygen supply, Xiao Qin's lips and fingers have been purple since birth, and he is often teased by his friends around him. "My classmates don't want to play with me, and my neighbors always point at me. I feel like an alien." Xiao Qin, who has low self-esteem, never dares to raise his head and walk, and his personality has become introverted and withdrawn. He has been seeking medical treatment since he was born and visited many hospitals at home and abroad. Since the diagnosis of the disease, his parents took him everywhere to seek medical treatment. However, due to the medical conditions at the time, the complex condition and difficult treatment, Xiao Qin did not have his first surgery in a hospital in Tianjin until he was 16 years old. However, the operation did not achieve the expected results, and the development of the pulmonary artery was still not ideal. cyanosis and hypoxia symptoms reappeared after a short period of relief after the operation. After discussing with his parents, the frustrated Xiao Qin decided to give up and continue to seek medical treatment.
Although he suffered from serious and minor illnesses, Xiao Qin still lived tenaciously. Not only did he successfully pass the university and find a stable job, he also met his current wife and had two lovely children. However, his happy life came to an abrupt end last winter, and his worsening illness had to bring him back to reality. In January 2021, Xiao Qin developed large-scale edema all over his body, accompanied by frequent dizziness. He traveled to Shanxi, Shanghai, and Beijing for medical treatment. However, the artificial blood vessel replaced during his initial surgery had been severely narrowed, and side branches of the body and lung blood vessels had formed. Reoperation is difficult and risky. A little carelessness may cause massive bleeding. After receiving treatment from many hospitals, no one dared to perform surgery rashly. He learned from a local doctor in Shanxi that Director Tao Liang of Wuhan Asian Heart Hospital was an expert in handling difficult, complex, and severe heart disease surgeries, and he immediately came up with the idea of going to Wuhan for treatment.
At Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital, Xiao Qin underwent a comprehensive examination and was finally diagnosed with: complex congenital heart disease, pulmonary atresia, ventricular septal defect, collateral circulation formation. "Xiao Qin's condition is very complicated, and it is a miracle that he can survive to this day." Dean Tao Liang said that Xiao Qin's problematic heart can still sustain life due to its unique structure, but it is extremely dangerous to operate like this for a long time and is likely to trigger a series of complications must be surgically corrected in time. However, the operation is difficult and risky: Xiao Qin had an operation 16 years ago, and his heart was severely adhered to the surrounding tissue. Once the heart was involved during thoracotomy, rupture was likely to occur; his pulmonary blood vessels were poorly developed, and he had no left and right pulmonary artery structures. , it is necessary to find the collateral blood vessels of the body and lungs one by one and carefully connect and suture them to fuse the pulmonary arteries. Every step is full of challenges; in addition, the pulmonary blood vessels are soft and brittle, and it is easy to bleed during the suturing process. After the suturing is completed, both To keep the blood vessels unobstructed and ensure no leakage, this places higher demands on doctors’ superb surgical skills and strong psychological endurance.
“As long as the patient’s life can be saved and the technology is feasible, no matter how difficult the operation is, we will give it a try."Faced with Xiao Qin's complicated condition, Dr. Tao Liang relied on his rich clinical experience to judge that the operation was feasible, so he decided to give it a try. Under the auspices of Dr. Tao Liang, the cardiac surgery team Possible problems were repeatedly discussed and deduced, and a careful surgical plan was formulated for Xiao Qin - collateral branch surgery + aortic valve valvuloplasty + ascending aorta plasty.
June 23, 2021, 9:50 am. Under the surgeonship of Dean Tao Liang and Director of Cardiac Surgery Jin Jing, Xiao Qin's surgery officially began: a second thoracotomy, establishment of extracorporeal circulation, fusion of collateral vessels and pulmonary arteries, reconstruction of aortic valve and ascending aorta... ...Every step was like walking on thin ice. It took a lot of time just to peel off adhesions and suture collateral blood vessels. During the operation, the "unlockable door" in Xiao Qin's heart was repaired. At the same time, all the collateral blood vessels were carefully sutured one by one. The operation was connected to the right ventricle, allowing the blood flow from the right ventricle to flow into the lungs, and opening the "life channel" for it. The operation was more difficult and complicated than imagined. The whole process took nearly 17 hours, and Xiao Qin was pushed out of the operating room. It was already 2:45 a.m. the next day. After the operation, Xiao Qin overcame many difficulties and started a new life. After the operation, Xiao Qin experienced a difficult recovery period due to excessive collaterals in the body and lungs and high pressure on the right heart, which caused lung disease. Edema , pulmonary hemorrhage , he underwent two collateral vessel interventional occlusion surgeries on July 2 and August 2, 2021. After the operation, his breathing and circulation finally stabilized; then he developed premature ventricular contractions, pulmonary He suffered a local infection, and his condition improved after timely medication. Due to poor appetite after surgery, Xiao Qin was severely malnourished. He was 1.85 meters tall and weighed only 86 pounds. He was as skinny as a stick. Medical staff tried every means to provide him with nutritional support. From ICU to the PICU, and then to the general ward, Xiao Qin, who was hospitalized for 65 days, passed through one hurdle after another, and finally recovered and was discharged from the hospital on August 22, 2021. Not only did his complexion and nails recover. Ruddy, I returned to work not long after returning home, and my weight gradually increased to 120 pounds.
Rong Media Reporter: Fan Zhoufeng
Editor: Wang Pei
Editor: Kou Lingyu
Editor: Hu Bin
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