Baby has VSD and chance of downs, anyone else?

Re: Baby has VSD and chance of downs, anyone else?

• caden1206 member

  November 2012

  I don't have any experience or advice, but I am praying for you and your LO.
  

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• Tbecker18101

  November 2012

  My son was born with a VSD. Sad thing was that they never detected it by ultrasound and the hospital never noticed it once he was born. My pediatrician was absolutely astonished that they didn't hear it. I knew something was wrong because it would take him an hour to eat 1oz of milk or he would just tire out and fall asleep from sucking. He weighed 9 lbs when he was born but then stopped gaining weight and was sick. The first five months of his life I think we lived in the hospital more often than not. They really wanted him to be nine months and double in weight but we couldn't make it past five months. He had a lot of trouble with breathing because of the way the blood flows with a VSD he wasn't getting enough deoxygenated blood. He got rsv and was in the hospital for like two weeks in an oxygen tent it was then that once he got better they did the open heart surgery and repaired the VSD with a vortex patch. That is when he was five months old and he is 18 now and plays lacrosse in college. He has had periodic check ups with the cardiologist all through out his life. He is 100 healed. No enlarged heart and no trouble with the patch. He is very well educated on the VSD bc he does have a different sounding heartbeat one that when put on an EKG one would think he had had a heart attack. When he was younger he would tire a little more quicker than the normal kid but as he grew and got stronger he is a normal kid.
  It was very scary I won't lie, but I had a lot of confidence in his doctors and he is a healthy young man. He healed very quickly I was very shocked at the rate he was crawling and playing after surgery. He was in icu for a week and a regular room for three days.
  Not all VSDs need surgery either it all depends on their size. My sons was pretty large.
  
  Good luck to you!!! Hopefully it is just a small murmur that they just monitor.

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• PipSqueak0313 member

  November 2012

  I don't know about the heart yet, we have a fetal echocardiogram scheduled for 12/7.  But we did do the MaterniT21 test in Sept and it came back positive for Down Syndrome and we didn't do an amnio.  We're planning on having a son with Down Syndrome in March and if it turns out the test was a false positive, so be it.

  I won't lie and say that we were thrilled by any stretch of the imagination when we got the test results -- we were terrified among other emotions.  However, after contacting the local chapter of the Down Syndrome support group and talking with other parents the fear has subsided and the excitement of having another son has returned.  Now, I am enjoying this pg as much as I did with my first 2.

   

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• soontobeahigh member

  November 2012

  My DD has Down syndrome. She was born with a large PDA which thankfully closed with medicine. After that healed they discovered she had a small VSD. It will not require surgery b/c the surgery is more risky for her than the VSD is. It is still there at 3.5 and probably will always be there. She also has a PFO which was discovered at her last Echo.

  I keep asking myself how in the world were these things missed when I had so many ECHO's done while pregnant and after she was born. It was masked by the large PDA then they were able to detect it after it was healed.

  She is doing great today heart wise and we go back to see the cardiologist in 2 years!! IF you have any questions about Ds or the heart stuff please ask away, I am more than happy to answer any questions you have.

  

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