At birth, the placenta is removed when the umbilical cord is cut. Baby's lungs must now provide oxygen to its own body. When the first breathe is taken, the blood vessels in the lungs open up, and blood begins to flow through to pick up oxygen. At this point, the ductus arteriosus is not needed to bypass the lungs. Under normal circumstances, within the first few days or weeks after birth, the ductus arteriosus closes and blood no longer passes through it. Most babies have a closed ductus arteriosus by 72 hours after birth.
In some babies, the ductus arteriosus remains open (patent) and the condition now becomes known as patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). The opening between the aorta and the pulmonary artery allows oxygen-rich (red) blood to pass back through the blood vessels in the lungs.
There are different ways to repair this issue, but because of the symtoms that occured, the doctors decided it was best to surgically repair mine.
Symptoms:
- fatigue
- sweating
- rapid breathing
- heavy breathing
- congested breathing
- disinterest in feeding, or tiring while feeding
- poor weight gain
After a couple months old I had to have my PDA repair, in a surgical procedure. There are two types of procedures to close it but I had a PDA ligation, which is performed under general anesthesia. The procedure involved closing the open PDA with stitches or clips in order to prevent the surplus blood from entering my lungs. I stayed in the ICU and the rest is history.
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