A 9-month-old Mongolian baby Erchemsehin received a new life after undergoing heart surgery in Korea. The photo shows Erchemsehin and her mother. Provided by Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital
“I will live with the warmth I received in Korea for life.”
The parents of Mongolian baby Erchemsehin (1), who had been discharged from Ewha Womans University’s Seoul Hospital on the 19th, bowed their head to the medical staff who had the surgery before returning home. The reason Erchemsehin, who was only 9 months old, came to Korea to undergo heart surgery.
As soon as Erchemsehin was born, an ultrasound scan revealed that the heart had two holes. Reexamination 6 months later revealed a hole in the wall between the right and left atrium of the baby’s heart. Local medical staff diagnosed it as’pulmonary artery stenosis’.
Pulmonary artery stenosis is a congenital heart disease in which blood cannot flow properly due to narrowing of the pulmonary artery, accounting for 8 to 12% of all congenital heart diseases. In severe cases, symptoms of dyspnea, chest pain, and fainting may occur during exercise, requiring treatment.
Erchemsehin’s surgery was impossible in local hospitals that lacked the skills of pediatric heart surgery. Erchemsehin’s parents urgently looked for other countries where surgery was possible, but the problem was the situation of’new coronavirus infection (Corona 19)’. Erchemsehin, who was refused entry from several countries, was connected to Korea with the help of the Global Love Sharing Foundation.
But again, Corona 19 caught on. It was originally scheduled to visit Korea in early December, but the situation of Corona 19 worsened, and the Mongolian government took measures to shut it down. In the end, after waiting for three weeks, the baby could only come to Korea as soon as the shutdown measures eased on December 25 last year.
Erchemsehin’s parents (first and second left in the photo), Dong-man Seo, professor of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Professor Kim I-seul (first and second left in the photo), and officials from the Global Love Sharing Foundation took a commemorative photo of her discharge from Erchemsehin. have. Provided by Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital
The road to the hospital was not smooth. The baby was immediately transferred to a life treatment center in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do, where he had to self-isolate for two weeks. On the 8th after enduring more than a month, the baby was hospitalized at Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital. After hospitalization, the procedure was expedited. After completing the basic examination, Erchemsehin successfully completed surgery on the 11th, was transferred to a general hospital room, recovered and discharged safely on the 19th.
Professor Seo Dong-man of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, who performed the surgery, said, “Corona 19 causes an increasing number of babies who cannot receive treatment in various developing countries.” “Erchemsehin can undergo surgery and be cured with active cooperation from Mongolian and Korean officials. I am grateful for that.”
Erchemsehin’s parents said, “I was tied up because of Corona 19, and only tears were shed. I am very grateful to Korea and the medical staff for reaching out,” and said, “I will never forget grace while my baby lives with a new heart.” The family will return to Mongolia at the end of this month.
Reporter Lee Tae-yoon [email protected]