While watching an episode of the new series Emily Owens M.D. I found the case she was working on very interesting as it pertains to developmental biology. In this particular case a woman was the surrogate mother to twins, one of the twins had Hypoplastic left heart syndrome and had to be operated on in vitro. At this point I decided to do farther research on this syndrome. I found that this occurs during development when the left side of the heart does not form correctly. studies done found that one cause of this syndrome could be genetic however it is unknown the true causes. This provides a challenge for it to be treated. Twenty percent of effect children die within the first month of life. In the article I found there was no mention of in vitro surgery but a series of surgeries done soon after birth. Some of the surgeries includes the Norwood Procedure done within the first two weeks of birth, Bi-directional Genn Shunt Procedure done 4 to 6 months of age and Fontan Procedure done 18 months to 3 years.
In the TV series both babies were going to be were going to be in good health, however in reality children that suffer from hypoplastic left heart syndrome are never cured.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/heartdefects/HLHS.html
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/10/11/31066.aspx?page=2
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