The Colombian hospital that brought back a smile to a Venezuelan family

• One month after her birth, Victoria García Barrera was diagnosed with congenital heart disease in Venezuela, where she received an initial treatment, which ended successfully in Colombia.
• Victoria and her family arrived at the FCV in 2015. She has been operated on twice to improve the functioning of her heart. Today, at nine years old, she leads a regular life: she goes to school and, her hobby is practicing rhythmic gymnastics.
• After the surgeries, Victoria receives monitoring by the FCV specialists to detect any anomaly and to be able to act in time. 

Bucaramanga, August 2022. Every step Victoria García takes in her rhythmic gymnastics classes ends in smiles from her parents. It is the satisfaction of seeing their daughter grow up after discouraging prognoses due to a heart problem identified a few days after her birth. 

Usually, a heart has two ventricles: the right ventricle, which pumps blood to the lungs for blood oxygenation, and the left ventricle, which sends the oxygenated blood throughout the body. However, Victoria was born with only one ventricle. The diagnosis given by doctors in Venezuela, where she was born, was a single ventricle with transposition of the great arteries. 

"Having only one ventricle increases the risk of suffering heart failure, which means that there is a danger that the heart won't pump efficiently the blood that the entire body needs to function,'' says Iván Pinto Martínez, a pediatric cardiologist at the FCV.

To improve the quality of life of people with this condition. There are surgical interventions performed in different stages. At only two months old, Victoria began her process in 2013: a procedure known as pulmonary artery banding was performed in Caracas. "It was a bit difficult due to the complexity, but we were able to overcome all the challenges. We stayed united as a family to get through this whole process," assures Jerannie Barrera Sotillo, Victoria's mother. 

After performing the corresponding analyses, the medical board decided to take her to the operating room to "perform Damus–Kaye–Stansel (DKS) procedure, to guarantee that the blood that reaches the single ventricle would properly exit through the aorta to her entire body. During the same procedure, the bi-directional Glenn procedure was performed to guarantee a good pulmonary flow," explains Pinto Martinez, a pediatric cardiologist at the FCV. The surgery was a success and, the positive results were evident: the cyanosis (blue coloration of the skin) produced by having less oxygen in the body disappeared and, she was finally able to reach the standard weight for her age. 

In June 2020, Victoria returned to the FCV surgery room for the third and final phase: the Fontan procedure, which focused on leaving her heart in the best possible condition, improving her oxygenation and anatomy, and positively impacting her quality of life. "Despite her diagnosis is a normal child. She goes to school, plays rhythmic gymnastics, is active, and enjoys sports. Of course, always with her medication." says Jerannie proudly.

Comprehensive care

Since the first intervention in 2015, Victoria and her family have traveled to Colombia every three to six months for check-ups. To ensure their comfort, the institution offered them the guest house, a space with all the amenities to accommodate international patients. 

"In those moments of stress, it is always important to feel supported. The house's staff, the nurses, and generally, all the team were present as many times as I needed. Thank you very much for your work, human quality, and dedication," says Jerannie.

The team of pediatric cardiologists at the FCV continues with the constant monitoring of Victoria's heart condition to identify any alteration and act on time.