Karen on April 26th, 2009

One challenge for children with Scimitar Syndrome is their vulnerability to lung infection and pneumonia due to pulmonary hypoplasia. The Himalayan Salt Inhaler may be a beneficial addition to your allergy arsenal.

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Karen on April 22nd, 2009

The Sunday before Nathan’s back surgery (to correct Congenital Kyphosis), I knew his last fun event would be the Awana Club meeting held that night at our church, Grace Memorial.  By the week’s end, he would be recovering in a body cast, a fact that had Bryan, me, and other family members sad and worried.  [...]

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Karen on April 17th, 2009

When Nathan was born, we soon discovered that he had Scimitar Syndrome and would need open heart surgery to correct Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return. It was a frightening time in our lives.  Bryan and I were tremendously relieved when surgery in Michigan proved to be successful.  End of story?  I wish.
About three months later, [...]

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Karen on April 14th, 2009

Scimitar Syndrome is a rare congenital heart defect characterized by Partial (PAPVR) or Total (TAPVR) Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return.  The syndrome gets its name from the curved shape formed by the pulmonary vein.  On a chest radiograph, the vein is said to look like a scimitar, a curved sword originating in the Middle East.
The abnormal [...]

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Karen on March 26th, 2009

In dextrocardia, the heart is abnormally positioned in the right chest instead of forming in the left.  This is frequently detected during prenatal ultrasound and may or may not indicate a heart problem.
Dextrocardia Situs Inversus (mirror image) is extremely rare and usually involves no related medical problems.  If the viseral organs are mirrored as well, [...]

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