What is a mitral valve prolapse? Mitral valve prolapse, also called MVP, is a relatively common condition where the mitral valve (the inlet valve to the left sided pumping chamber) does not work correctly. In this condition the two flaps of the mitral valve, called the leaflets, don’t close smoothly or evenly. This is due to…
What is pectus carinatum? Pectus carinatum is a disorder where the front chest bone (called the sternum), instead of being on the same level of the chest ribs, is pushed forward so that the middle part of the chest is more evident. In this condition there might be other areas of the chest (the ribs) which…
What is pectus excavatum? Pectus excavatum, also referred to as sunken chest, is a deformity in the structure of the anterior wall of the chest in which there is an abnormal shape of the sternum (the front chest bone) and the rib cage. This results in a caved-in or sunken appearance of the anterior part of…
Pectus deformities refers to a relatively common group of conditions affecting the anterior chest wall. These conditions are quite common in children and adolescents with an incidence of up to 1 in 500. There are two main types of pectus deformities, namely pectus excavatum, where the chest sinks inside or pectus carinatum, which appears to…
Cardiovascular patches are commonly used in paediatric cardiac surgery. Patches are used to close holes or to enlarge narrow arteries and valves at the end of open-heart surgery. One of the questions I am asked more commonly by parents of children with congenital cardiac defects is what kind of materials are used for the patches…
Whats is POTS? POTS is a syndrome (a combination of different symptoms) caused by a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is a complicated network of nerves that controls some vital bodily functions and which works in an automatic mode out of our voluntary control. For example when we stand up…