“…And I did live without a heart.”

D’Zhana Simmons had been in the Holtz Children’s Hospital since July where she has had two heart surgeries. Between surgeries, which was about 118 days D’Zhana had no heart.
In the spring of last year, she was diagnosed with an enlarged heart, which meant that it was too weak to pump blood throughout her body. She had to travel from her home in Clinton, S.C to Miami, FL to undergo the surgery that would save her life.
She had her first surgery, but her new heart only stayed with her for two days. The new heart was not working properly and had to be removed. The doctors did something that they never did before; they replaced D’Zhana’s heart with two artificial pumping devices. The devices kept blood pumping through her body until she could have another surgery.
This “is a big deal” according to Dr. Peter Wearden, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Doctors at Holtz Children’s Hospital had to craft new heart chambers to work with the pumps since the pumps are meant to be used with an existing heart.
Some might ask why an artificial hear was not used. Technology has not been developed to use artificial hearts on patients as young as D’Zhana, mostly because these diseases do not occur as frequently with younger patients. What doctors at this hospital have done means that there is now another option for younger patients with severe heart problems. Dr. Marco Ricci, director of pediatric cardiac surgery at the University of Miami said, ” in the past, this situation could have been lethal.”
On October 29, doctors completed D’Zhana’s second heart surgery, and it was a success. “I truly believe it’s a miracle,” said Twolla Anderson, her mother. Doctors say that she would be able to do most things that other teens do but there is a 50 percent chance that she will need a new heart by the time she is 30.
On November 22, D’Zhana turned 15 and celebrated yet another milestone.

Some facts and stats on heart disease among adults.

~ by Anand on November 23, 2008.