In Utero Surgery for Babies with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome

Now, more than ever before, parents are finding out in utero if their baby will be born with some kind of congenital birth defect. One potentially fatal congenital heart defect is hypoplastic left heart syndrome (or HLHS). According to Texas Children's Hospital, this occurs in about 1 in 6,000 live births when the fetus's left side of the heart does not develop normally. Boston Children's Hospital led the way for babies diagnosed in utero with HLHS by creating an in utero procedure to reduce the severity of HLHS or, in some cases, to prevent the critical congenital heart defect from actually occurring -- allowing the baby's heart to eventually work with four pumping chambers (instead of the 2 chambers so many HLHS babies have). Today's show will feature a couple who traveled to Boston when they discovered their unborn child would have HLHS. How dangerous was the surgery? How many surgeries did their son need? What is their son's prognosis? Listen to this show for answers to these questions and more!