Small Baby With PDA Thrives After Having a Constellation of Symptoms at Just 6 Days Old

How Stanford Medication Youngsters’s Well being turned challenges into triumphs for a new child with coronary heart defects

In Mountain View, California, on March 24, 2025, a tiny fighter named Penelope Yee entered the world. As we speak, she is a thriving toddler, however not too way back, her life was crammed with uncertainties.

Penelope’s mother and father, Francesca and Simon Yee, eagerly anticipated the enjoyment of their new child filling their lives with laughter. Sadly, this happiness was quickly challenged by an sudden flip of occasions.

Born at El Camino Well being – Mountain View Hospital, Penelope was recognized with three congenital coronary heart defects (CHDs)—patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), pulmonary stenosis, and atrial septal defect (ASD)—via echocardiograms. These coronary heart situations, detected at beginning, are among the many extra widespread CHDs, with PDA being one of many high three most prevalent ones.

The El Camino Health – Mountain View Hospital care group discharged Penelope with a plan for outpatient monitoring of her coronary heart situations. Nonetheless, throughout a routine checkup at 6 days previous, her pediatrician recognized hypothermia (a low physique temperature) and suggested her mother and father to hunt additional analysis at El Camino Well being – Mountain View Hospital.

Session recognized the necessity for superior assessments and specialised care, so the group at El Camino Well being – Mountain View Hospital referred Penelope to the nationally ranked Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), as a part of a partnership between the 2 hospitals.

The essential intervention: Knowledgeable care at Stanford Youngsters’s

“At Packard Youngsters’s, we didn’t know what to anticipate,” remembers Francesca. “There have been hypotheses, however the causes of her signs weren’t identified.” The care group knowledgeable her that Penelope exhibited a constellation of signs, a time period for a gaggle of associated signs suggesting an underlying medical situation.

Penelope spent per week at Packard Youngsters’s beneath the care of varied groups, primarily cardiology, but in addition neurology, genetics, gastroenterology, and different specialties. The multidisciplinary group at Packard Youngsters’s coordinated intently along with her NICU group, in notably with Jonathan Reiss, MD, John Benjamin, MBBS, and Lawrence Prince, MD, PhD. Making certain that Penelope’s recognized PDA, pulmonary stenosis, and ASD didn’t overshadow different potential points exemplified the considerate strategy to pediatric care at Packard Youngsters’s.

As soon as her take a look at outcomes turned out there, it was confirmed that almost all of Penelope’s points pertained to her coronary heart. Sometimes, PDAs that don’t shut naturally or reply to remedy are addressed by interventional cardiologists. At Stanford Medication Youngsters’s Well being, the Preterm Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) Closure Program makes a speciality of such procedures, together with for infants who’ve extraordinarily low beginning weight.

“There was a degree once we didn’t know what was occurring; the cardiology group was evaluating how you can greatest handle Penelope’s PDA following a earlier cardiac catheterization to deal with her pulmonary stenosis. The choices included making an attempt to shut it within the cath lab, persevering with with remedy, or performing surgical procedure. To us it felt unsure, however Brian Han, MD, got here to us within the CVICU (Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit) and defined what they had been pondering, and he was very clear. That left an impression on us.”, says Francesca.

“When assessing Penelope previous to surgical procedure, she exhibited speedy respiration, expending power at excessive ranges, and was not in a position to feed by mouth or do the everyday issues that different infants of her age are in a position to do,” remembers Shaun Setty, MD, heart surgeon and surgical director of Cardiovascular Intensive Care and director of World Cardiac Care at Stanford Medication Youngsters’s Well being. Penelope’s coronary heart defect warranted surgical intervention as a result of it was too massive to be closed with a cardiac catheterization machine.

The ductus arteriosus is a brief blood vessel that connects the aorta and pulmonary artery in a fetus throughout being pregnant. If it doesn’t shut after beginning, the additional blood movement from the aorta goes to the pulmonary artery, placing pressure on the lung operate and making the guts work tougher. Small PDAs are usually not severe, however massive ones trigger heart failure.

Thriving after coronary heart surgical procedure: Persevering with care and assist for Penelope

Dr. Setty carried out Penelope’s PDA surgical procedure in roughly 40 minutes. “Penelope’s PDA was extraordinarily massive for a kid her age; it was virtually a direct connection (as a substitute of a small passageway) between her aorta and pulmonary artery, and simply defined the diploma of coronary heart failure she was in,” Dr. Setty notes.

Following the process, the outcomes had been virtually fast; Penelope’s respiration normalized, and her skill to feed improved considerably. “It additionally reaffirmed to me that even repairing a easy congenital coronary heart defect could make an enormous distinction, not solely to a affected person similar to Penelope, but in addition for his or her entire household,” Dr. Setty displays.

Francesca and Simon had been relieved as they noticed her skill to realize key milestones for a child her age. “We felt it was a constructive final result, and Penelope recovered shortly,” Francesca shares.

“The beauty of our heart center group is that it might probably deal with any heart defects—from widespread to the extremely advanced and uncommon. We have now nice groups throughout, and that makes it straightforward and offers consolation to households,” Dr. Setty emphasizes.

All through the journey, Penelope’s mother and father even have discovered consolation in seeing how seamlessly varied hospital groups have labored collectively: “Ultimately, we felt that one group was working collectively; bodily we had been bouncing between items, however the groups had been speaking with one another, there was continuity, and we had been up to date on what was happening,” says Francesca.

Six days after her surgical procedure and time spent within the CVICU and acute care, Penelope returned residence on Could 8, 2025. The journey wasn’t straightforward on her mother and father. They expressed deep gratitude for the Johnson Center mental health care group with whom they had been linked throughout Penelope’s NICU keep. The Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center group also can supply households like Penelope’s and people of choose pediatric coronary heart sufferers related psychological well being and emotional assist via the Thrive Program.

The household additionally remembers the assist and nice expertise provided by the Child Life and Creative Arts group, the lactation services group, and different hospital employees, together with the cafeteria personnel. “Everybody was very empathetic and heat, and we had been properly taken care of. We beloved our daughter being cared for at Stanford. The groups took unbelievable care, not solely of Penelope, however of us too,” says Francesca.

Embracing life’s milestones: Penelope’s journey ahead

Since returning residence, Penelope continues to thrive, having fun with actions typical for her age and spending lots of time along with her grandparents. Not too long ago, she marked an enormous milestone by beginning daycare. Francesca, who has reached out to Penelope’s coronary heart surgeon to share a few of these milestones, feels linked to Dr. Setty, acknowledging, “Sometimes, it’s uncommon to ascertain a relationship with a surgeon, however we felt we may with Dr. Setty. He had proven large compassion and made it potential for Penelope to get handled urgently.”

Francesca isn’t alone in perceiving Dr. Setty’s real take care of his sufferers. His dedication extends past native care to voluntary missions in locations like Fiji, offering heart surgery for youngsters who wouldn’t have entry to the lifesaving procedures.

As Penelope’s coronary heart care progresses, she is adopted by Susannah Kim, MD, Stanford Medication Youngsters’s Well being community pediatric heart specialist. Dr. Kim, as a group supplier, ensures continuity of care and displays Penelope’s ASD in an outpatient setting, leveraging the community’s sources and collaborative strategy to ship distinctive care tailor-made to Penelope’s wants. Along with her coronary heart care, Penelope receives specialised consideration to assist her holistic restoration, together with dietary follow-up from a pediatric gastroenterologist, bodily remedy, and a scheduled analysis with the Excessive-Danger Toddler Observe-Up Clinic group this winter. Common consultations with Megan Fischer, PsyD, at Stanford Medication are a part of her mother and father’ supportive routine.

All through these appointments, Penelope embraces her childhood, joyfully partaking in actions typical for her age and never letting her medical visits sluggish her down.

Be taught extra about our heart care and mom and baby services at Stanford Medication Youngsters’s Well being.