children s health issues
Atrioventricular Septal Defects
Treatment of Atrioventricular Septal Defects
Surgical repair Because most infants with complete atrioventricular septal defect have heart failure and failure to thrive, these defects are usually repaired with surgery when the infant is 2 to 4 months of age. Even if the infant is growing well and does not have symptoms, surgical repair is usually done before the infant is 6 months old to prevent development of complications. For children with a partial defect and no symptoms, surgery is done when the child is older, usually between age 1 year and age 3 years. If the infant develops heart failure before surgery is done, doctors give medications such as diuretics (which pull excess fluid out of the body),digoxin(to help the heart pump more forcefully), and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (to relax blood vessels and help the heart pump more easily) to help manage symptoms before surgery. Children usually need to take antibiotics before visits to the dentist and before certain surgeries (such as on the respiratory tract) during the 6-month period after surgical repair. If there is a residual defect after surgery, antibiotics are needed before these procedures indefinitely. These antibiotics are used to prevent a serious heart infection called Infective Endocarditis . 