Dr. Edward Bove

Dr. Edward Bove is experienced in the treatment of complex congenital heart defects.

When faced with a complicated congenital heart defect, confidence in the skill and expertise of your child’s surgeon is of paramount importance.  When our son, Nathan, was diagnosed with Scimitar Syndrome, a rare condition characterized by dextrocardia, pulmonary hypoplasia, and Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return, we soon learned that our local surgeons had no personal experience performing the required repair.  After reviewing Nathan’s medical records, the closest doctor with a successful surgery under his belt was not willing to proceed due to the “severe rotation of the heart.”

There was tremendous anxiety in our household as we considered our options.  Do we allow a willing doctor to perform the surgical correction even though this would be his first attempt?  Or do we continue to search for a doctor skilled in correcting this rare CHD, possibly allowing Nathan’s heart to weaken in the passing months?

Thankfully, I came into possession of Michael Ruhlman’s book, Walk on Water:  Inside an Elite Pediatric Surgical Unit, which documents Dr. Roger Mee’s dynamic team at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.  Mee, I discovered (to my initial chagrin), had retired, but the name of another “Walk on Water” surgeon caught my attention–Dr. Edward Bove.

I described our son’s condition to him via email, and was thrilled when he quickly and graciously wrote back that he “would be honored to evaluate” our son for surgery.  Bryan and I were extremely impressed with his credentials.  He had an 85% success rate with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a complex condition requiring a series of three surgeries in order to transform half of a heart into a functional heart.  After reviewing Nathan’s medical records, he called one day to inform us that he would perform the surgery.  I took down the necessary appointment information, thanked him, hung up the phone…and shook for the next few minutes, in the grips of an odd combination of joy and terror.

In July of 2006, our family of seven boarded a plane in Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Gulfport, Mississippi, and flew to Ann Arbor, Michigan.  At the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, University of Michigan Medical Center, Dr. Edward Bove constructed a baffle out of Nathan’s own pericardium to tunnel through the right atrium to the left atrium, successfully rerouting oxygenated blood to the correct chamber.  That’s not even a Reader’s Digest Condensed version of the story, but suffice it to say, we will forever be grateful to Dr. Bove and his team at C.S. Mott.

Tags: C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, CHD, congenital heart defect, Congenital Heart Defects, dextrocardia, Dr. Edward Bove, Gulfport Mississippi, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Nathan, Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return, Scimitar Syndrome, University of Michigan Medical Center