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(December 20, 2005 4:00pm) New York, NY — Even though six-year-old Sivar Mohammed was about to undergo lifesaving heart surgery in a strange environment, thousands of miles away from his home in Iraq, he didn't stop smiling as he was moved into the operating room this morning at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM).
His father Mohammed Sh. Hawar was at this side, quietly crying and kissing Sivar while an interpreter explained in Arabic about the pre-operative procedures and what was expected during the surgery. It was only when Sivar fell asleep under anesthesia that his father let go of his hand and left the operating room.
A few hours later, after the successful completion of the open-heart surgery that closed a hole in his heart and widened his pulmonary valve to allow normal blood flow to his lungs, Sivar was smiling and resting comfortably with his father once again by his side in the ICU.
"Everything went extremely well," said Samuel Weinstein, MD, director of pediatric heart surgery at CHAM and the cardiothoracic surgeon who led the surgical team. "His blood flow is now normal, he looks healthy and for the first time in his life Sivar has a nice pink color to his skin."
Dr. Weinstein spent time visiting Sivar and his father in the PICU, reviewing the surgery and giving them a good report with the help of an interpreter. Afterwards, Sivar and his father each gave a "thumbs up" to the CHAM PICU team taking care of them. Dr. Weinstein then checked in on Wsim Rabea, who continues to do well after his open-heart surgery yesterday at CHAM.
"Wsim is a little tired, but he's in great shape," said Dr. Weinstein. "We are very pleased with how he's doing."
"My son is now healthy and I am feeling very relaxed," said Rabea H. Abo. Senda, Wsim's father, through an interpreter. "We are very happy."
Dr. Weinstein then conferred with his team in preparation for surgery on 12-year-old Ashjan Khaled. Ashjan had been diagnosed with a condition known as ventricular septal defect, in which there is a large hole in the wall between the left and right ventricles of the heart.
Ashjan and her father, Khalid A. Jarallah, were subdued as they went into the operating room this afternoon, but they were in good spirits and smiled for the medical team. Inside the OR they listened quietly to the explanation about the anesthesia and the surgery from the OR team with the help of an Arabic-speaking interpreter.
"From my perspective the surgery went fine and was uneventful," said Carlene H. Broderick, MD, chief of pediatric anesthesiology at CHAM. "Ashjan and her father had both been well-prepared for the surgery, with everything being explained to them as we do with all our patients. There were no surprises."
"This was one of the biggest holes I've ever seen in a child's heart," said Dr. Weinstein. "She will be on a respirator overnight, and while the heart had suffered some damage, it will heal and she will be able to grow and have her own family and a very happy life."
Upon hearing these words Ashjan's father broke out into a broad grin for the first time all day.
"Ashjan means sadness in our language," said Ashjan's father, Khalid A. Jarallah, through an interpreter. "Now when we go home we are going to change her name to mean happiness."
Dr. Weinstein and his team will perform the fourth surgery in this marathon series tomorrow morning.
"I could not be more impressed with how our pediatric cardiac team has responded to the special challenges of supporting these children and their parents," said Dr. Weinstein. "We excell in our clinical care and at handling complex cultural and language issues and other "out of the ordinary" considerations for our patients and their families every day at CHAM."
"Our team has managed everything involved with these cases and made it look easy," said Dr. Weinstein.
"This is an important event for these families, but it's also important for Montefiore because now the world will know what we do for all our patients," said Terry Golde, RN, administrative nurse manager, CHAM pediatric ICU.
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