Medical progress: Kiara breathes a heart valve intervention!

Medical progress: Kiara breathes a heart valve intervention!

In Austria, around 700 children see the light of day with a congenital heart defect every year - this corresponds to around one of 100 newborns. Thanks to clear progress in pediatric cardiac surgery, around 95 percent of these children are now surviving until adulthood, as 5min.at . One of these success stories is the 21-year-old Kiara, who was born in 2003 with complex cardiac misalignment, the Fallot’s tetralogy. After her first successful operation, her life was symptom -free for a long time. But according to her Matura, problems arose: the lung flap was leaking, which significantly impaired its quality of life.

In order to improve Kiara's quality of life, the decision was made for a minimally invasive heart valve replacement, in which the defective flap was replaced by a catheter. The intervention, which is considered technological progress, only lasted two hours and was a success - the new flap works perfectly. According to Dr. Gernot Grangl, her treating doctor, represents this method a significant improvement in the treatment of heart defects. He emphasizes that such minimally invasive procedures can drastically reduce the frequency of open heart surgery, possibly every ten years, instead of being necessary as before.

comprehensive support for those affected

After a successful operation, it is important that patients with innate heart defects are continuously looked after. At the University Hospital Graz there has been a specialized EMAH outpatient clinic for over 25 years, which offers life-long aftercare. As Uniklinikumgraz.at , interdisciplinary teams from children's and adult par there are closely together to ensure seamless care across all life phases.

The new heart valve now enables Kiara to live a carefree life. "I'm really great with the new heart valve! I have no breath problems at all, I can also go uphill without stopping once," said Kiara. These progress not only show that the most modern medical technology promises the highest possible quality of life, but also that nothing stands in the way of a positive future after a positive future for many patients.