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Ebstein's Anomaly of the Tricuspid Valve. Who had ever heard of such a thing? Until the 20-week ultrasound of their second son, Derek and Kendra Briscoe had no clue about Ebstein's Anomaly, or even less specifically, about congenital heart defects (CHDs) in general.
Ebstein's Anomaly makes up less than 1% of all CHD cases. Born at the University of Virginia Medical Center, the Briscoe's youngest son, Justin, suffers from this extremely rare defect in which the major problem is insufficient blood flow to the lungs. At 15 days of age, Justin had a modified BT shunt placed in his heart, and the right side of the heart with the dysfunctional tricuspid valve was patched closed, making Justin's heart single ventricle. Justin did very well in the days immediately following surgery. Approximately two weeks after surgery, while still recovering at UVA, Justin developed a supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), which is a rhythmic abnormality caused by an "extra" pathway that allows blood to flow in a fast moving continuous loop through the heart. His heart rate spiked to around 220 beats per minute. SVTs occur in 1 out of 3 cases of people with Ebstein's. Fortunately, Justin should outgrow his type of SVT within a year, until which time, he will continue taking a medication to control his heart rate.
Justin has two more surgeries to go, the first of which will be in less than 4 months; however, the Justin's family refuse to think about that. Justin, who is now 9 weeks old, has been home for 3 weeks. With the help of big brother, Jaysen, Justin is beginning to get settled and they are trying to focus on being a family!
For more information on Justin, please visit his website at: www.caringbridge.org/visit/justinbriscoe
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Justin Briscoe
Ebstein's Anomaly of the Tricuspid Valve. Who had ever heard of such a thing? Until the 20-week ultrasound of their second son, Derek and Kendra Briscoe had no clue about Ebstein's Anomaly, or even less specifically, about congenital heart defects (CHDs) in general.
Ebstein's Anomaly makes up less than 1% of all CHD cases. Born at the University of Virginia Medical Center, the Briscoe's youngest son, Justin, suffers from this extremely rare defect in which the major problem is insufficient blood flow to the lungs. At 15 days of age, Justin had a modified BT shunt placed in his heart, and the right side of the heart with the dysfunctional tricuspid valve was patched closed, making Justin's heart single ventricle. Justin did very well in the days immediately following surgery. Approximately two weeks after surgery, while still recovering at UVA, Justin developed a supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), which is a rhythmic abnormality caused by an "extra" pathway that allows blood to flow in a fast moving continuous loop through the heart. His heart rate spiked to around 220 beats per minute. SVTs occur in 1 out of 3 cases of people with Ebstein's. Fortunately, Justin should outgrow his type of SVT within a year, until which time, he will continue taking a medication to control his heart rate.
Justin has two more surgeries to go, the first of which will be in less than 4 months; however, the Justin's family refuse to think about that. Justin, who is now 9 weeks old, has been home for 3 weeks. With the help of big brother, Jaysen, Justin is beginning to get settled and they are trying to focus on being a family!
For more information on Justin, please visit his website at: www.caringbridge.org/visit/justinbriscoe
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