Ventricular Septal Defect

In some cases, the VSD will close over time and no treatment will be necessary. If doctors think this is going to happen, they will monitor the VSD to make sure it is diminishing in size and not affecting the child’s health in any way.
Sometimes it is necessary to operate to repair a VSD. This is open heart surgery, which means that the heart will need to be stopped and opened to repair it. A heart bypass machine will take over the job that the heart normally does.

The aim of the operation is to make the circulation of blood through the heart and lungs normal, so a patch is put over the hole between the ventricles.

For most children this surgery is low risk, but it can depend on how well your child is otherwise. The doctors will discuss risks with you in detail before asking you to consent to the operation. The length of time in hospital will usually be about a week, depending on how well the child is otherwise.

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