Jale Daucakacaka 
[File Photo]
The Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital in Suva is noting an increase in complex heart conditions among the children it treats.
Hospital Director Doctor Krupali Tappoo says the most notable increase is in cases of Tetralogy of Fallot, or TOF, which is done to repair four heart defects and changes the normal flow of blood through the heart.
Hospital Director Doctor Krupali Tappoo
“So you can imagine that that takes time, and that’s an open heart surgery as well. The other most common ones would be ventricular septal defects, where there are holes in the bottom chambers of the heart. The other one would be patent ductus arteriosus, where there is a connection between the artery and the veins, and that’s not an open heart surgery; it’s done from the side between the ribs.”
Dr Tappoo is urging parents to get their children screened as soon as possible if they think the child has a heart defect.
Meanwhile, a team of surgeons and medical support professionals from Singapore is conducting surgeries at the hospital this week.
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