Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics - Fetal Cardiac Program Advances Infant Cardiac Care
2/26/15 12:39 PM
News And Features Fetal Cardiac Program Advances Infant Cardiac Care After Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics established its impressive Fetal Health Center with a wide range of pre- and post-natal infant services in 2011, a movement developed to create an area specifically devoted to high-risk pediatric cardiology: the Ward Family Fetal Cardiac Program. "We have been doing fetal echocardiograms at Children's Mercy for decades," says Tara Swanson, MD, director of the new cardiac center. However, Dr. Swanson and her colleagues at Children's Mercy felt that a little counseling and three month post-delivery follow-up was not enough. It's estimated that nearly one out of 100 infants (about 1 percent) is born with heart problems. "Not all of these infants need immediate care, but for those that do, it's lifesaving," says Dr. Swanson. That's why the Fetal Heart Center is focused on getting expectant mothers to Children's Mercy in Kansas City as early as possible for diagnosis and continuing care. "We've delivered more than 100 babies who were identified prenatally as posing risks if they were delivered elsewhere because they'd need immediate care," says Karina Carlson, MD, a pediatric interventional specialist. Such risks are possible in the hospital's patient area, which extends from Central Missouri to Denver, often in very rural areas. "It's not unusual for a woman to be eight to 10 hours away from the care a facility like ours provides," says Dr. Carlson. Dr. Swanson added that through this new center, "We can provide intervention within an hour of birth at Children's Mercy." She points to the case of a baby boy who is now at home, thanks to the step-by-step planning and reviews by a comprehensive team of health providers. "He had hypoplastic left heart syndrome with a restrictive atrial septum," Dr. Swanson says. "We had a cath lab and needed everyone including Dr. Carlson - available as soon as the mother delivered." Dr. Carlson adds: "The ability for the mother to give birth at our center and take the baby directly to the cath lab for emergent atrial septal stenting saved his life." The baby still faces additional palliative procedures, but there is hope. "In many other situations, he just never would have survived," says Dr. Swanson. Dr. Swanson and her team are working to extend the Fetal Heart Center's effectiveness. "We've doubled the fetal echo appointments in the past six months. We'll be doubling the number of cardiologists in the next few months, and adding the first two of several new care providers to give us a more robust service," she says. In addition, more extensive community outreach will help bring more of these mothers to Children's Mercy as early as possible, and educational and counseling programs will be expanded. "As cardiologists, we want to do a great job caring for the patient and family from the moment the fetus is diagnosed until the child is an adult," says Dr. Swanson.
http://www.childrensmercy.org/Clinics_and_Services/Clinics_and_Depart‌News_and_Features/Fetal_Cardiac_Program_Advances_Infant_Cardiac_Care/
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