First patient to have heart
surgery at
Texas Children's now a grandfather
Fernando celebrates his first
birthday.
Fernando more recently with four
of his seven children.
Fernando was the first patient to have
heart surgery at Texas
Children’s. Shortly after the hospital opened, Fernando, who was born
with a heart murmur, was admitted to the hospital in heart failure.
Drs. Dan McNamara and Luke Ables, assisted by a young Dr. Denton
Cooley, performed the emergency surgery to open the obstructed
pulmonary artery valve.
As
they prepared Fernando for surgery, his mother, Petra, pleaded for the
chance to baptize him. Ables relented, saying, "God comes first; then
doctors." So a priest was called and the baby was baptized in his room
before being wheeled off to surgery.
Fernando had another procedure at age 2, but he had a healthy
childhood. Today, he is father to seven and a grandfather.
To
read other stories about Texas Children's patients, visit
Kids Courageous,
or to learn more about Texas Children's Heart Center, visit the
Web site.
Texas Children's
Heart Center is a self-contained pediatric heart treatment facility
within Texas Children's Hospital. Its unique design provides a single
point of care, including examinations, echocardiography, heart
catheterization, congenital heart surgery and intensive care. Continuum
and delivery of care are enhanced by this special setting.
Surgical procedures performed
at Texas Children's Heart Center include:
Norwood operation
Patent ductus arteriosus ligation
Blalock-Taussig shunt
Glenn shunt
Atrial septal defect and ventricular septal defect closures
Coarctation repair
Atrioventricular canal repair
Fontans procedure
Tetralogy of Fallot repair
Rastelli procedure
Ross
procedure
Aortic arch advancement
Arterial switch
Minimally invasive surgical repair of certain heart
defects
