A five-year-old child from Dumangas, Iloilo recently underwent surgery in South Korea to repair a large patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), or a hole in the aorta, the largest artery in the body that acts as the heart’s pumping chamber. A hole in that part of the body forces the heart and lungs to work harder to pump blood.

Zhen Mary Kathleen Deypalubos had the free procedure done at Seoul National University Children’s Hospital (SNUCH), a sub-facility of Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), one of the best hospitals in South Korea.

The procedure was led by SNUCH thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon Kwak Jae-gun.

“[A] large PDA must be closed as young as two years old,” explained SNUH pediatric cardiologist, Prof. Kim Gi-beom. “If we lose the time for the operation, this structure can result to pulmonary hypertension and the patient can be a ‘blue baby’ when she reaches adolescence period.”

The term “blue baby” refers to a baby with a blue complexion due to a lack of oxygen in the blood.

The doctor noted, while the surgery itself is not a risky procedure, not having the operation could “lose the time to live longer.”

The procedure lasted around four hours.

The patient is currently stable and is expected to recover in the coming weeks.

“My daughter can now live a normal life,” the patient’s mother said.

The operation was made possible by the Overseas Child Support Project, which is sponsored by SNUH./WDJ