Is surgery required for atrial secundum defect of the heart ?
Patient: Good day, my baby was diagnosed with Atrial Secundum Defect of the Heart when he was only 10 months old. We have tried to consult a doctor and was adviced for a immediate operation of my son since the hole is already big. As we consult another doctor, she adviced that before school age- a heart operation must be done. My question is : is there any chances of not getting a operation for my son ; the thought that his disease is not curable but for operation but as we have gathered few informations from few of our friends,that there were cases like his that have not undergone an operation and was then unholed as time passes. We need your advice on this since we have been thinking of not taking him for operation because we are really afraid of any risk. As parent, we want to be with him for a long time. Doctor: Hi,The hole should be closed. Patients with hole on heart will develop some pathological changes in their hearts with time depending the location and size of the hole. Surgery is done to prevent those complications and heart failure.I would advise you to perform surgery sooner, as sometimes patients refer to physician when there are already such complications, which are contraindication for the surgery.Take care