Ladies and the Courage to Undergo Congenital Heart Surgery

Ladies, a teenager from Malang, was found to have a congenital heart defect when she was still a toddler. Years later, after her parents had weighed the decision for a long time, she underwent surgery at Heartology. In this video, Ladies and her parents talk about the fear, doubt, and courage that came with their journey.

Colds That Kept Coming Back

As a toddler, Ladies caught a cough and cold almost every month. During a closer examination, a doctor heard a murmur in her heart. Echocardiography, an ultrasound of the heart, done in Malang and later in Surabaya, gave the same result: Ladies had a Complete Atrioventricular Septal Defect (CAVSD), a congenital defect in which there is a hole in the wall at the center of the heart, together with a problem in the valves between the upper and lower chambers. Her mother also mentioned an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) of the primum and secundum types, meaning holes in the wall between the upper chambers of the heart.

The news came as a shock. Her parents did not decide on surgery right away. Ladies seemed to be growing normally and stayed active. “As my mother said, I used to run, and my teacher said I could represent the school at the sports and arts festival,” Ladies recalls. Her parents went back and forth, and they were also afraid the surgery might not go as hoped.

Meeting the Heartology Team

On the recommendation of a doctor in Malang, the family came to Heartology. There, Ladies had another echocardiogram and consulted the medical team. Her parents felt confident after hearing the doctors' explanation and asking every question that had been on their minds. They were also struck by how the hospital staff treated them. “Even the security staff, everyone was friendly,” her mother says.

Ladies was cared for by a team that included dr. Radityo Prakoso, Sp.JP (K), dr. BRM Ario Soeryo Kuncoro, Sp.JP (K), and dr. Salomo Purba, Sp.BTKV (K), together with other doctors at Heartology. She underwent a CAVSD repair, an operation to close the holes in the walls of the heart and repair its valves.

Surgery Day and Recovery

Surgery day was a tense time for her parents. Her mother still remembers the surgeon's expression as he came out of the operating room. “His aura already looked happy,” she says. After surgery, Ladies was cared for in the ICU and for a while had a small tube called a pigtail, which was later removed.

When the video was recorded, her mother said that Ladies' heartbeat felt calmer and that the valve leak she once had was no longer found. Ladies now wants to share her experience with other teenagers who have a similar condition. Her message is simple: do not be afraid of treatment, because in her view, the sooner it is handled, the better. Every congenital heart condition is different, so discuss the treatment options with your heart specialist.