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CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES HEART SURGEONS COMPLETE RARE PEDIATRIC DOUBLE MELODY VALVE HEART PROCEDURE, THE FIRST EVER AT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES
PharmiWeb.com
Nov 11 2013
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Posted on: 11 Nov 13
More Children's Hospital Los Angeles press releases
Seroj Avoyan is a world class Armenian Dhol drum virtuoso whose
fingers move with such dexterity they are a blur to the eye. Only
the human ear can pick up the beauty of the stunning rhythmic beat
produced by his hands. So gifted he has performed on stage with Yani
and was a featured solo performer at the Armenian Music Awards in 2002.
Children's Hospital Los Angeles pediatric interventional cardiologist
Frank Ing MD with patient Brian Frounzian. (Photo: Business Wire)
That same year Seroj had a second thrill: the birth of his Brian. But
within days doctors heard something wrong with beat of Brian's heart.
He was born with a life threatening congenital heart defect that
required emergency surgery six days after birth and open heart surgery
three weeks later. "It was terrible" says Ruzan his mother.
The defect critical pulmonic stenosis affects the leaflets of the
pulmonary valve making it difficult for blood to flow from the right
ventricle to the lungs. He also had an Ebsteinoid Tricuspid valve a
structural insufficiency that prevents the valve from closing tight
allowing blood to leak backwards.
But recently Brian now 11 underwent a rare pediatric transcatheter
double Melody valve procedure the first ever performed at Children's
Hospital Los Angeles. The procedure first performed in Germany in
2011 has corrected both defects and instilled Brian a young swimmer
and martial arts aficionado with newfound energy that was in short
supply earlier this year.
Brian just recently returned to Children's Hospital Los Angeles for
his first check-up and he is recovering great says Dr. Ing. "For
the foreseeable future I believe Brian is safe from needing another
surgery" Ing says.
That is wonderful music to his mom and dad's ears. Brian is a tough
kid having endured six previous heart surgeries including an open
heart tricuspid valve replacement at age four. Brian progressed in the
following years but more than a year ago he started feeling sluggish
compared to his friends. There was a medical explanation: He was
outgrowing his leaky replacement Tricuspid valve which was causing
the right side of his heart to expand. This was to be expected as
his heart outgrew his replacement part. "He kept saying 'Mom why am
I getting tired?'" his mother Ruzan recalls. Brian an active swimmer
and martial arts aficionado never seemed to have energy. "He would
play with the other kids and always get tired first" she says.
Tests on Brian's heart in 2012 showed his heart function was decreasing
and doctors had only a handful of options. At some point both his
pulmonary and tricuspid valves would need to be replaced potentially
with open heart surgery operations. Or doctors could consider a
relatively new cardiac catheterization procedure that could take care
of both valves at once without opening the chest.
Brian's team at Children's Hospital Los Angeles opted to do the
transcatheter double Melody valve implant. Brian's cardiologist
at Children's Matsato Takahashi reached out to Children's Hospital
Los Angeles Heart Institute's new recruit Pediatric Interventional
Cardiologists Frank Ing who specializes in complex catheterization
procedures. Dr. Ing teaming with Cardiologist Cheryl Takao was
optimistic a transcatheter double Melody valve implant could do the
job even though it was only recently perfected for children in the
past couple of years.
"I have followed Brian as an outpatient most of his life and watched
him with a great deal of concern due to progressive deterioration
of his right heart due to leaky tricuspid and pulmonic valves"
says Takahashi. "It would have required a very extensive surgery
to fix this problem. I was a little apprehensive when Drs. Ing and
Takao proposed a double Melody valve procedure but it turned out
the procedure went exceedingly well and the patient showed much
improvement in his cardiac function. I believe this is a tour de
force for our interventional team."
Dr. Ing is one of a handful of physicians nationwide who has performed
the procedure numerous times. He was recruited by Children's Hospital
Los Angeles last September from Texas Children's Hospital and has
been breaking new ground at Children's Hospital using pioneering
catheterization stenting and Melody valve implant procedures which are
less invasive than open heart surgery. "Recovery time is much faster"
he says.
Brian underwent the six hour transcatheter procedure in May and he was
standing and walking the next day (we have pictures). Now he's back to
swimming and karate and starting school in a few weeks says mom Ruzan.
"He's doing great and now he feels normal" she says. "Just like the
other kids."
Dad Seroj Avoyan a colon cancer survivor who has battled serious
health problems himself feels uplifted by his son's progress. "My
son is an inspiration" says Seroj.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20131111006127/en/
Business Wire http://www.businesswire.com/
http://www.pharmiweb.com/pressreleases/pressrel.asp?ROW_ID=80574#.UoKIaEP8LIU
From: A. Papazian
PharmiWeb.com
Nov 11 2013
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Posted on: 11 Nov 13
More Children's Hospital Los Angeles press releases
Seroj Avoyan is a world class Armenian Dhol drum virtuoso whose
fingers move with such dexterity they are a blur to the eye. Only
the human ear can pick up the beauty of the stunning rhythmic beat
produced by his hands. So gifted he has performed on stage with Yani
and was a featured solo performer at the Armenian Music Awards in 2002.
Children's Hospital Los Angeles pediatric interventional cardiologist
Frank Ing MD with patient Brian Frounzian. (Photo: Business Wire)
That same year Seroj had a second thrill: the birth of his Brian. But
within days doctors heard something wrong with beat of Brian's heart.
He was born with a life threatening congenital heart defect that
required emergency surgery six days after birth and open heart surgery
three weeks later. "It was terrible" says Ruzan his mother.
The defect critical pulmonic stenosis affects the leaflets of the
pulmonary valve making it difficult for blood to flow from the right
ventricle to the lungs. He also had an Ebsteinoid Tricuspid valve a
structural insufficiency that prevents the valve from closing tight
allowing blood to leak backwards.
But recently Brian now 11 underwent a rare pediatric transcatheter
double Melody valve procedure the first ever performed at Children's
Hospital Los Angeles. The procedure first performed in Germany in
2011 has corrected both defects and instilled Brian a young swimmer
and martial arts aficionado with newfound energy that was in short
supply earlier this year.
Brian just recently returned to Children's Hospital Los Angeles for
his first check-up and he is recovering great says Dr. Ing. "For
the foreseeable future I believe Brian is safe from needing another
surgery" Ing says.
That is wonderful music to his mom and dad's ears. Brian is a tough
kid having endured six previous heart surgeries including an open
heart tricuspid valve replacement at age four. Brian progressed in the
following years but more than a year ago he started feeling sluggish
compared to his friends. There was a medical explanation: He was
outgrowing his leaky replacement Tricuspid valve which was causing
the right side of his heart to expand. This was to be expected as
his heart outgrew his replacement part. "He kept saying 'Mom why am
I getting tired?'" his mother Ruzan recalls. Brian an active swimmer
and martial arts aficionado never seemed to have energy. "He would
play with the other kids and always get tired first" she says.
Tests on Brian's heart in 2012 showed his heart function was decreasing
and doctors had only a handful of options. At some point both his
pulmonary and tricuspid valves would need to be replaced potentially
with open heart surgery operations. Or doctors could consider a
relatively new cardiac catheterization procedure that could take care
of both valves at once without opening the chest.
Brian's team at Children's Hospital Los Angeles opted to do the
transcatheter double Melody valve implant. Brian's cardiologist
at Children's Matsato Takahashi reached out to Children's Hospital
Los Angeles Heart Institute's new recruit Pediatric Interventional
Cardiologists Frank Ing who specializes in complex catheterization
procedures. Dr. Ing teaming with Cardiologist Cheryl Takao was
optimistic a transcatheter double Melody valve implant could do the
job even though it was only recently perfected for children in the
past couple of years.
"I have followed Brian as an outpatient most of his life and watched
him with a great deal of concern due to progressive deterioration
of his right heart due to leaky tricuspid and pulmonic valves"
says Takahashi. "It would have required a very extensive surgery
to fix this problem. I was a little apprehensive when Drs. Ing and
Takao proposed a double Melody valve procedure but it turned out
the procedure went exceedingly well and the patient showed much
improvement in his cardiac function. I believe this is a tour de
force for our interventional team."
Dr. Ing is one of a handful of physicians nationwide who has performed
the procedure numerous times. He was recruited by Children's Hospital
Los Angeles last September from Texas Children's Hospital and has
been breaking new ground at Children's Hospital using pioneering
catheterization stenting and Melody valve implant procedures which are
less invasive than open heart surgery. "Recovery time is much faster"
he says.
Brian underwent the six hour transcatheter procedure in May and he was
standing and walking the next day (we have pictures). Now he's back to
swimming and karate and starting school in a few weeks says mom Ruzan.
"He's doing great and now he feels normal" she says. "Just like the
other kids."
Dad Seroj Avoyan a colon cancer survivor who has battled serious
health problems himself feels uplifted by his son's progress. "My
son is an inspiration" says Seroj.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20131111006127/en/
Business Wire http://www.businesswire.com/
http://www.pharmiweb.com/pressreleases/pressrel.asp?ROW_ID=80574#.UoKIaEP8LIU
From: A. Papazian