Virtual reality saves inoperable baby

After life-saving heart surgery, made possible with the help of virtual reality imaging, four-month old baby Teegan, deemed inoperable after her birth in Minnesota, celebrated her first Christmas with her family.
Teegan Lexcen, one of twins born August 20, was judged by physicians to be inoperable within 24 hours of her birth. With only one lung and a heart riddled with defects, she was sent home with her thriving identical twin Riley so that the family could spend together what little time Teegan might have.

We lived thinking that any time she went to sleep, she might not wake up again,” recalls Cassidy, mother of four.

The critically ill baby stunned her family and pediatrician with each day she survived. Her will to live spurred her family to search for a miracle. The family contacted The Heart Program at Nicklaus Children's Hospital and Program staff reviewed the child's medical records and encouraged the family to bring her for evaluation in December.
Dr. Redmond Burke, Director of Cardiovascular Surgery for The Heart Program and Dr. Juan Carlos Muniz, Director of Cardiac MRI, reviewed the child’s CT scan data. A novel operation was devised using virtual reality imaging techniques including Google Cardboard, which turns a smartphone into a low-cost stereoscopic virtual reality viewer. The CT scan data was converted into a 3D model and uploaded to the web where it was converted to a format compatible with the Google Cardboard Viewer.
On December 10, Dr. Burke performed a seven-hour open-heart surgery at Nicklaus Children's Hospital, Miami, rebuilding Teegan's aorta with donated human heart tissue, connecting her aorta and pulmonary artery, and placing a shunt from the right ventricle to her only pulmonary artery.
Teegan's first night after surgery was difficult. She underwent emergent catheterisation the next morning, and arrested during the procedure. The procedure showed that her operation was working, but her heart and lung were still too weak. She was placed back on heart-lung bypass for the next three days. Teegan just needed time to rest until her heart and lung were strong enough to function on their own again.
Teegan will need to have two more operations in the months and years ahead, a process typical of children born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Original article was published by Nicklaus Children's Hospital. Read full article here.