Will being overweight affect the surgery for a ventricular septal defect?

Written by Xie Zhi Hong
Cardiology
Updated on September 24, 2024
00:00
00:00

Ventricular septal defect surgery is performed by puncturing the right femoral vein, guiding the catheter into the inferior vena cava, through the atria and ventricles, and reaching the defect via the right ventricle. The occluder can then be delivered through the catheter into the left ventricle, where the umbrella is opened, followed by opening it in the right ventricle; this describes the surgical process.

Therefore, generally speaking, the surgical process is not affected in most patients who are obese. However, severe obesity can impact the accuracy of vascular localization during puncture by the surgeon. Secondly, if complications such as anesthesia issues or other emergencies arise during the surgery, severely obese patients may experience a reduced success rate in emergency surgical interventions, hence it is recommended that patients control their weight.

Furthermore, severe obesity can exacerbate the cardiac load originally induced by the ventricular septal defect, thus affecting the surgical tolerance in patients whose cardiac function is already compromised by the defect. It is recommended that these patients control their weight.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Zhi Gong
Cardiothoracic Surgery
1min 25sec home-news-image

Ventricular septal defect refers to a defect in the ventricular septum, the wall dividing the left and right ventricles of the heart.

A normal human heart is divided into four chambers: the left ventricle, right ventricle, left atrium, and right atrium. The circulation in a normal person involves venous blood entering the right atrium, passing through the mitral valve into the right ventricle. The right ventricle then contracts and pumps blood into the lungs. After exchanging gases and becoming oxygenated, the blood turns bright red. It then returns to the left atrium. From the left atrium, blood passes through the mitral valve back into the left ventricle, and then the left ventricle contracts and pumps blood throughout the body. Therefore, there is a thick wall between the normal left and right ventricles, known as the ventricular septum. If due to congenital heart disease or other reasons, a small hole appears in the ventricular septum, it is called a ventricular septal defect. If this defect is large, it necessitates active surgical treatment because if the defect exists, the pressure of the blood flow in the left ventricle is higher, causing a large amount of abnormal blood to enter the right ventricle. This leads to a significant accumulation of blood in the right ventricle, causing the patient to have too much blood in the pulmonary circulation, making the patient prone to recurrent colds and infections. Furthermore, these children may easily develop heart failure and even life-threatening conditions such as infective endocarditis.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
46sec home-news-image

Can ventricular septal defect avoid amniocentesis?

Because ventricular septal defect is a type of congenital heart disease, it is recommended that patients adopt a light diet and especially avoid spicy and stimulating foods due to the condition of ventricular septal defects. It is still recommended to pursue active and early surgical treatment to improve symptoms. If there is poor cardiac function, or symptoms of palpitations and chest tightness occur, amniocentesis should not be performed as it carries certain risks. However, for milder symptoms that can be timely controlled, amniocentesis and other tests may be considered, but it is also necessary to rule out other diseases. If the patient does not have any special diseases in the past, such as coronary heart disease or diabetes, the procedure can be handled.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Di Zhi Yong
Cardiology
47sec home-news-image

Does a ventricular septal defect easily cause hiccups in infants?

The relationship between the two is not very significant. A ventricular septal defect is a type of congenital disease, and currently, surgical treatment is recommended for patients, as medical treatment is not very effective and prone to relapse. For this type of congenital heart disease, it is best to first perform a cardiac echocardiography to make a clear diagnosis. In terms of treatment, early surgical intervention is suggested for patients to thoroughly improve symptoms such as palpitations, chest tightness, and difficulty in breathing. If an infant often experiences hiccupping, it could be a sign that the infant's stomach is not very mature, leading to excessive stomach acid, but this is not significantly related to the ventricular septal defect.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Zhi Gong
Cardiothoracic Surgery
1min 10sec home-news-image

What are the symptoms of ventricular septal defect?

What are the symptoms of a ventricular septal defect? In normal individuals, there are no defects between the ventricular septa. However, if there is a small ventricular septal defect, such as less than five millimeters, typically ranging between two to three millimeters, this minor defect functions like small gaps between normal windows and doors, causing minimal shunting which generally does not significantly impact the patient, resulting in no obvious symptoms. However, if the defect is relatively large, such as exceeding five millimeters, causing significant left ventricular blood to shunt to the right ventricle, it can lead to congestion in the right ventricular system or pulmonary circulation. Under such conditions, patients may frequently experience respiratory infections, congestive heart failure, or in children, reluctance to eat, presenting feeding difficulties and developmental delays. Of course, if the defect continues to enlarge, achieving a size larger than the patient's aorta, the patient may show signs of significant right heart failure due to the damaged ventricular septum, necessitating emergency surgical intervention.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Zhi Gong
Cardiothoracic Surgery
1min 19sec home-news-image

Symptoms of ventricular septal defect

The main symptoms of a ventricular septal defect depend on the size of the defect and the age of the patient. Generally, smaller ventricular septal defects, such as those measuring only one to two millimeters, result in very little shunting from the left ventricular system to the right ventricular system. This is akin to a tiny amount of air seeping through a crack in a window or door. In such cases, the patient typically does not exhibit noticeable symptoms. However, if the defect is larger, over five millimeters, a significant amount of blood passes from the left ventricular system into the right ventricular system, which can cause substantial congestion in the right or both lungs of the right ventricular system, or lead to recurrent respiratory infections and congestive heart failure. The affected individual may show disinterest in eating, feeding difficulties, and delayed development. As the patient grows older, they may exhibit reduced activity endurance, fatigue or palpitations, and shortness of breath. Gradually, cyanosis and right heart failure may develop. Additionally, patients are at risk of developing infective endocarditis, fever without symptoms, and recurring fever.