Vietnam Children's Hospital carries out its 500th successful arterial switch operation

The patient, who is now almost 1 month old, was diagnosed with transposition of the great arteries, a rare congenital defect with the two main arteries leaving the heart are reversed.

The baby is from Laos and was transferred to Vietnam for the surgery when being just 10 days old. The baby's coronary artery was less than 1 millimeter, making the case even more complicated.

Now on the 20th day since the surgery, the patient’s heart is functioning normally. Transposition of the great arteries is said to cause deaths in 80%-90% of children in their first year after birth if it is not detected. Children with the rare defect are unable to undergo surgery when they are 2-3 months old./