Tricuspid Atresia: Treatment, Cost and Side Effects

Tricuspid atresia is a condition where babies are born with a defect in their hearts. It is a form of congenital heart disease, where the child’s heart does not develop the tricuspid valve, while inside the mother’s womb. There are four essential valves present inside the human heart and the tricuspid valve is one of them. It regulates the flow of blood from the heart to the lungs and other parts of the body. Therefore, it is an essential part the people who are unable to develop the valve in question have severely compromised cardiac functionalities.

To compensate the absence of the valve, babies are born with at least a couple of holes in the heart, through which the blood can pass. However, passage of blood through this hole can lead to severe complications. For instance, if the hole gets too big, excess amounts of blood may enter the lungs, leading to a large ventricular septal defect or large VSD. This can cause a congestive heart failure.

Contrarily, if the hole is too tiny, not enough blood may be passed into the blood, leading to improper oxygenation. This can lead to cyanosis, where the child’s skin turns blue due to the lack of oxygen.

Treatment for tricuspid atresia is generally long and arduous. It may involve several open heart surgery on the patient. Even when the condition has been treated, the patient needs to rely on medication for a large portion of their lives. Furthermore, people who suffered from the disease during childhood also develop a higher risk of heart conditions in their adult life as well.

Tricuspid atresia is a congenital condition. However, not all babies will feel the symptoms of the condition at birth. While a majority of the children affected will feel discomfort within the first few hours after birth, some may only start showing symptoms a month of two after their birth.

Common symptoms for the condition include rapid breathing, sweating, shortness of breath, stunted growth, bluish tinge of the skin and fatigue during feeding times. The disease can often be diagnosed during routine ultrasound, while the mother is still pregnant. Doctors may also diagnose the disease my listening to the ‘murmur’ sound from the child’s heart after birth.

Surgery is the only form of treatment for the disorder. Doctors will need to perform three open heart operations on the child to rectify the disorder. The first is called a shunt placement, where a shunt is placed inside the heart in such a manner, so as to ensure that the blood keeps flowing into the lungs.

The second surgery is performed around 3 to 6 months after birth and is known as a Hemi-Fontan procedure. Here the vein carrying the blood from the body into the heart is connected to the artery carrying the blood from the heart to the lungs.

Lastly, the Fontan surgery is performed when the child is between 18 months to 5 years old. During this surgery, the doctors will take the veins carrying the oxygen depleted blood to the heart and connect it directly into the lungs, thus bypassing the heart in the process.

If for some reason, the child does not qualify for the heart surgery, doctors may talk with the parents regarding heart transplant.

The surgical treatment is the first course of action that doctors may take in case of a tricuspid valve. Generally, any kind of invasive surgery in case of babies can be risky, but there is no other alternative. So, if the child suffers from the condition, doctors will start treating it through surgical procedure.

A doctor will judge whether the baby is qualified for the surgery in the heart. In rare cases, the baby may not qualify for such treatment and heart transplant may be the only option.

Since the treatment involves an open heart surgery during infancy, there are bound to be side effects. There can be several complications during the surgery, even heart failure. Furthermore, two other surgeries are needed to rectify the issue, which further magnifies the chances of suffering from side effects.

Tricuspid atresia may be cured with the three surgeries. However, the post treatment care will last for years to come. The baby will require ongoing care in the form of medications, and checkups for a long time after the treatment is complete. People who suffered from the disease may also suffer heart complications well into adulthood as well.

Since the surgeries may be performed till the age of 5. Most babies affected will have to stay with the condition for the first few years of life. Even when the treatment is complete, it may take some time before the patient can lead a normal life.

Depending on the complexity of the treatment and where the treatment is being sought, the heart condition may cost anywhere between Rs. 1 Lakh to Rs. 5 Lakh, in order to be treated. In case of heart transplants, the cost may be much higher.

Results of the treatment are permanent. However, even after the treatment is complete, people who suffered from the disorder will always have a higher risk of developing cardiac conditions in adulthood, when compared to people who did not suffer from the congenital disease.

There are no alternative treatments for tricuspid atresia and leaving the condition unattended can lead to severe complications or even to the death of the child in question. This is why patents of the baby should start the treatment as soon as the condition is detected.