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Our Kids - Meet Elizabeth

Elizabeth was ten months old the first time she came to SickKids. Since then, she has had three surgeries and too many procedures and clinic appointments to count.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth, Pulmonary Atresia and Ventricular Septal Defect; Non-surgical pulmonary valve replacement

In the fall of 2005, a valve in the artery leading from her heart to her lungs wasn’t working despite previous open heart surgeries to repair it.

Blood can leak back into the heart which can cause fatigue and possibly enlarge her heart. This time, she would not need surgery to replace the valve, as she was a candidate for a new procedure.

Elizabeth was one of the first six paediatric non-surgical pulmonary valve replacement patients in North America.

Dr. Lee Benson, Cardiologist and Head of Interventional Cardiology, performs this valve replacement through a catheter - a small tube inserted into the vein in a patient’s leg.

After the procedure, Elizabeth remembered waking up in the Critical Care Unit (CCU) with many tubes attached to her. Patients who receive this treatment can usually go home within 24 hours of the procedure. Elizabeth went home the day after the procedure and was back at school within one week.

With open-heart surgery, she would have to stay home for a month which would make it difficult for even a very motivated student like Elizabeth to keep up with her school work.

Although she feels like she comes to SickKids often, Elizabeth finds time to pursue her many interests such as musical theatre, choir and piano lessons. She also follows an exercise regime and loves to wakeboard and swim in the summer.

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