Children’s Surgical Care – Anjali

Anjali Mendis is a 6-month-old girl with Tetralogy of Fallot, a serious congenital heart defect, who urgently needs heart surgery.

Since Anjali’s parents cannot afford the surgery, we decided to share the costs with the Sri Lankan President Fund and Familien Nothilfe e.V. Sri Lanka.

Dr. Shirantha Arachchige will oversee the procedure.

FYI: Tetralogy of Fallot is the most common form of cyanotic congenital heart disease. Cyanosis is the abnormal bluish discoloration of the skin that occurs because of low levels of circulating oxygen in the blood. Tetralogy of Fallot consists of the combination of four different heart defects: a ventricular septal defect (VSD); obstructed outflow of blood from the right ventricle to the lungs (pulmonary stenosis); a displaced aorta, which causes blood to flow into the aorta from both the right and left ventricles (dextroposition or overriding aorta); and abnormal enlargement of the right ventricle (right ventricular hypertrophy). The severity of the symptoms is related to the degree of blood flow obstruction from the right ventricle. If infants with Tetralogy of Fallot are not treated, the symptoms usually become progressively more severe. Blood flow to the lungs may be further decreased and severe cyanosis may cause life-threatening complications. The exact cause of Tetralogy of Fallot is not known.