Questions about heart defects

penguincrazy

Hi all,

We are considering adopting a little boy who has been diagnosed with tetralogy of Fallot.  From what I've researched, it's a serious diagnosis, but not altogether untreatable.  He has had one surgery already, but will require at least one more once he's older.  I would greatly appreciate any and all comments/experiences/advice you ladies would be willing to share.  TIA

 

CaptainSerious

I adopted a 7 year-old boy from Peru in 2010 who had a congenital heart defect (coarctation of aorta).  We brought him home in the last days of July, and three weeks later, he had surgery.  It was a very difficult time for us, but he came through it with flying colors and is very healthy now.

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about tetralogy of Fallot.  All I can do is urge you to have this boy's complete file (not just the medical stuff) reviewed by a pediatrician with experience reviewing adoption files.  We used a doctor who would read the file and then help us assess the child's medical condition as well as his risk for attachment difficulties, like RAD, FASD, and other developmental delays.  These evaluations are not fool-proof, but will give you the best idea of the child's prognosis based on the available information.

I wish you all the best!  If you have any questions about our experience, ask away!  I'm also very happy to share our adoption doctor's information; he's based in Florida (we used him remotely by sending him files electronically and having telephone conferences).

J+MS

It's a defect with multiple cardiac anomalies, these kids can get cyanotic (blue) because their heart is shunting blood to the other side without reaching the lungs to get oxygen. They go through "spells" where they have a marked desaturation, older kids will squat down to increase blood pressure when this happens. It can be fixed surgically, so try to imagine surgical complications, medical bills and the stress that goes along with surgery on a young child. Also, medications and the expenses and responsibility that goes along with that. You also have to have them checked for other genetic issues, as it is associated with several genetic anomalies which can cause other problems. I don't know what has already been corrected, so take all this info with a grain of salt.