Parents' perseverence helps in diagnosis of baby's rare malady

[Fellow Traveler]

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/livi...th/ci_11288252

"I'm going to be blunt," he told the Nelsons, according to Jason's recollection. "Your son does not have asthma. He's had a heart attack and is in heart failure, and he's going to have surgery within 24 hours." Matthew had "cardiac asthma," wheezing associated with heart failure. The seizure he'd had during circumcision was actually a heart attack.

[Dabble]

How sad. It's stated almost as if just having a seizure during the circ was no big deal. Poor little baby actually had a heart attack.

[broodymama]

But they "sleep right through it" ya know. :

Poor little guy.

[Ruthla]

I don't see how this article has much to do with circumcision. The circ didn't CAUSE his heart problems, nor did they make his heart problems any worse. If the baby wasn't circumcised, the doctor would have said said "The seizure he'd had as a newborn was actually a heart attack. "

Yes, this story does normalize circumcision, just as a story about a bottlefed baby might normalize bottlefeeding. But it's a minor detail in the story, this medical condition, misdiagnosed for so long, just happened to have happened to a baby whose parents had him circumcised.

[Fellow Traveler]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

I don't see how this article has much to do with circumcision. The circ didn't CAUSE his heart problems, nor did they make his heart problems any worse. If the baby wasn't circumcised, the doctor would have said said "The seizure he'd had as a newborn was actually a heart attack. "

Yes, this story does normalize circumcision, just as a story about a bottlefed baby might normalize bottlefeeding. But it's a minor detail in the story, this medical condition, misdiagnosed for so long, just happened to have happened to a baby whose parents had him circumcised.

Unless I misread the story, the circumcision caused the heart attack. Now it might be that he had a preexisting condition that put him at greater risk for a heart attack under stressful conditions but it is a shame that we would put a child in a situation that he could have a heart attack. I think it is well known that this procedure does things such as increased heart rate, blood pressure and similar things which could lead to problems even in healthy children.

[Ruthla]

Unless I misread the story, the circumcision caused the heart attack.

It states that the heart attack occured during the circumcision, but it's not at all clear that the circumcision CAUSED the heart attack. Now that you pointed that out, I see how it could be read that way.

He was definitely a very sick baby regardless. Being left intact would not have spared him his serious illness or the need for cardiac surgury.

Matthew's problem, diagnosed by echocardiogram and apparent on a second X-ray, was precisely what Martin had suspected: an anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery, or ALCAPA. The extremely rare condition occurs early in fetal development when the left coronary artery is connected to the pulmonary artery, which carries oxygen-poor blood, instead of to the aorta. Deprived of sufficient oxygen, the heart starts to die, leading to a heart attack, according to the federal government's Medline information service.

Left untreated, about 90 percent of babies born with the condition do not survive their first year. Of the 500 pediatric heart patients seen annually at Children's Hospital, only two or three have ALCAPA, according to Martin. "With prompt treatment, these kids can have excellent outcomes," he says.

[Fellow Traveler]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

It states that the heart attack occured during the circumcision, but it's not at all clear that the circumcision CAUSED the heart attack. Now that you pointed that out, I see how it could be read that way.

It didn't explicitly say that and truthfully I don't think they ever would even if the Dr believed it. But circumcision does puts undo stress on the child and it is often stress which precedes heart attacks. To be clear, I understand that certain conditions precipitate such events but often there is that proverbial straw that breaks the camels back.

Originally Posted by Ruthla

He was definitely a very sick baby regardless. Being left intact would not have spared him his serious illness or the need for cardiac surgury.

Agreed. Though, I suspect the condition would have been caught at some point; to catch it in this way damaged his heart.

If I am not mistaken a child in London died do to a similar event just last year.

[Treece]

Yet another reason circ should be outlawed. This is the WORST way to learn a child has a devastating disease.

[A&A]

Originally Posted by jwhispers

Unless I misread the story, the circumcision caused the heart attack. Now it might be that he had a preexisting condition that put him at greater risk for a heart attack under stressful conditions but it is a shame that we would put a child in a situation that he could have a heart attack. I think it is well known that this procedure does things such as increased heart rate, blood pressure and similar things which could lead to problems even in healthy children.

:


Just as stress in adults can cause heart attacks, stress in children can cause heart attacks, too.

[talk de jour]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

I don't see how this article has much to do with circumcision. The circ didn't CAUSE his heart problems, nor did they make his heart problems any worse. If the baby wasn't circumcised, the doctor would have said said "The seizure he'd had as a newborn was actually a heart attack. "

Yes, this story does normalize circumcision, just as a story about a bottlefed baby might normalize bottlefeeding. But it's a minor detail in the story, this medical condition, misdiagnosed for so long, just happened to have happened to a baby whose parents had him circumcised.

: Agreed.

[PuppyFluffer]

I'd be curious to know if the child ever had another seizure event or just the one during the circumcision. A quick Google search led me to a few articles about lidocaine (injected ansethetic) causing seizures due to overdose of the drug.

[Fyrestorm]

People who practice baby mutialtion will take this article in stride saying that the circ actually saved this baby's life! Scary....

[PuppyFluffer]

Fyrestorm, that occured to me as well.

[silverspook]

This article is going to make ME have a heart attack.

[Raelynn]

The condition would have likely been caught regardless. My best friend's daughter had ALCAPA that wasn't diagnosed until a year of age, when she had lost 80% of her heart function. What they thought was reflux and colic was actually the baby experiencing the same pain an adult would during a heart attack, night after night. 4 months of age is about the right time when most cases of ALCAPA are diagnosed.

With that being said, I can't imagine what that poor baby went through, with the pain of circumcision and having a heart attack on top of it. The circumcision may have triggered that particular heart attack, but he would have had them regardless, and the fatality rate for ALCAPA not being corrected is 90% by 1 year of age (my friend's DD was VERY lucky).

[lolar2]

They mentioned that they had initially thought the heart attack was a reaction to anesthesia, so it sounds as though at least he was given anesthetic for the circ.

[loveyourohana]

I don't think they need to techniquely blame circ... its just common sense isn't it... Stresssss = Higher risk of heart attack... circ causes extreme stress. Sad!

[Galatea]

And it shows that circumcision, even under anesthesia, is still extremely stressful, and that a doctor would not be shocked if a baby had a seizure during it.

[Tizzy]

I don't see how the circumcision was completely relevant in this situation.

A friends daughter suffered something similar when they gave her her first bath at the hospital. Not that I agree with that routine either, considering that it is traumatic enough to make them scream until they're purple, it's just that in this article, the heart condition would have shown up eventually under some other stress.

[becca_howell]

The article isn't available. I really wanted to read it and share it with my pro-circ'ing mother!