Clinician's Roundtable A Young Iraqi Girl’s Long-Term Prognosis After Heart Surgery
Feb 25, 2008
10:59
Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD
Guest: Karla Christian, MD
Despite the tremendous conflict in Iraq, there have been many medical miracles. One such story centers around Amenah Al-Bayati, a young Iraqi girl found ill by a United States Marine Corps battalion surgeon, who suspected the girl had a potentially life-threatening heart condition, fixable only by immediate surgery. Amenah was subsequently brought to the United States for this complex, life-saving surgery, performed by Dr. Karla Christian at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital in Nashville. After her exhaustive journey from Iraq, Amenah had developed a series of infections. Dr. Christian and her team discovered Amenah’s heart condition to be more intricate than originally suspected, which forced minimal delays in the planning for the little girl’s surgery. In the end, however, Dr. Christian says she “couldn’t be more pleased with [Amenah’s] entire pre-operative, operative and post-operative course.” Now, Dr. Christian shares a few personal anecdotes from her own experience as a rare breed of female pediatric cardiac surgeons, as she explains more about her experience working with Amenah and her family, and assesses the long-term prognosis for this little girl. Dr. Mark Nolan Hill hosts.
Guest: Karla Christian, MD
Despite the tremendous conflict in Iraq, there have been many medical miracles. One such story centers around Amenah Al-Bayati, a young Iraqi girl found ill by a United States Marine Corps battalion surgeon, who suspected the girl had a potentially life-threatening heart condition, fixable only by immediate surgery. Amenah was subsequently brought to the United States for this complex, life-saving surgery, performed by Dr. Karla Christian at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital in Nashville. After her exhaustive journey from Iraq, Amenah had developed a series of infections. Dr. Christian and her team discovered Amenah’s heart condition to be more intricate than originally suspected, which forced minimal delays in the planning for the little girl’s surgery. In the end, however, Dr. Christian says she “couldn’t be more pleased with [Amenah’s] entire pre-operative, operative and post-operative course.” Now, Dr. Christian shares a few personal anecdotes from her own experience as a rare breed of female pediatric cardiac surgeons, as she explains more about her experience working with Amenah and her family, and assesses the long-term prognosis for this little girl. Dr. Mark Nolan Hill hosts.