Complications of the heart at birth are a frightening experience for new parents. In nearly one percent of all births, children are born with congenital defects of the heart that can lead to prolonged hospital stays and increased medical costs throughout childhood. For some children, the congenital heart complication will require surgical intervention which may put the child at a greater risk for acquired scoliosis.
If your baby was born with a heart defect, it is important to understand not only what the implications may be for your child’s cardiovascular health, but also the long term complications that may affect spinal growth and development.
Acquired scoliosis is not a developmental condition that we often think of when we are caring for a baby with a heart complication. However, in most cases of heart surgery, because surgery requires access to the heart through the thoracic region of the back, your child may experience complications later in life that impede normal spinal development. For most children with acquired scoliosis, the complication is the result of spinal lesion development.
In addition to lesion development, children with cardiac complications at birth may also development scoliosis even when heart surgery is done through the sternum. For these children, access to the heart does not occur through the back and, in most cases, lesions are not associated with the complication of scoliosis. Instead, the complication may be attributed to poor blood flow, or spinal irrigation, due to the poor heart development. Again, this is a matter that should be addressed with a pediatric cardiologist.
For children born with a congenital heart complication, a team of healthcare professionals will be necessary. As part of that team, you will want to be sure a pediatric neurologist as well as a pediatric orthopedic are included. Because scoliosis is progressive in nature, early detection is important for the heart patient as with early detection your child can receive early scoliosis treatment. When treatment is not provided early, there can be further complications involving growth and development and even complications associated with your child’s ability to ambulate and move about in a normal fashion as other children.
Congenital heart complications often require surgical intervention. Even without surgery, children born with a heart condition are at-risk for development scoliosis in growth and development and, should a result, be monitored carefully to ensure growth and development are meeting normal child standards.
Source: AssociatedContent.com, 09-09-2009
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