Samsung Seoul Hospital Successfully Treats Patent Ductus Arteriosus in 'Minimum Weight' Premature Infants

2-Month-Old Baby Weighing 1.1 kg

Medical staff, including Professor Jin-Young Song (first on the left) of the Department of Pediatrics at Samsung Medical Center, are celebrating Yoon Seul-i, who is about to be discharged after undergoing non-surgical closure of patent ductus arteriosus.
[Photo by Samsung Medical Center]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The record for the 'minimum weight' in non-surgical closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in Korea has been broken.

The pediatric team of Professors Song Jin-young and Sung Se-in at Samsung Seoul Hospital announced on the 1st that a baby girl, Yoon Seul-i-yang, who underwent non-surgical closure for PDA at 2 months old weighing 1.1 kg last November, was recently discharged in good health.

Patent ductus arteriosus refers to the condition where the ductus arteriosus, which is necessary for fetal blood circulation in the womb, remains open after birth. Normally, it closes naturally shortly after birth, but in premature infants, it often remains open. If this condition persists, complications such as endocarditis or pulmonary edema can occur, and it can lead to death due to heart failure.

Yoon was born at 28 weeks and 4 days, weighing 680g. As an extremely low birth weight infant, she was among the smaller premature babies. Shortly after birth, she was diagnosed with PDA. Treatment to close the open ductus arteriosus was necessary, but generally, devices for PDA treatment can only be used after babies grow to over 6 kg.

The team decided to use a recently developed device called 'Piccolo' worldwide. Piccolo, which is only up to 5 mm in size, was designed for special cases like Yoon. Very delicate treatment is essential to ensure the fragile body can endure it. The team successfully inserted the Piccolo device through Yoon’s leg blood vessel to the ductus arteriosus and deployed it to close the open ductus. Yoon was discharged healthy and bright, having surpassed 3 kg in weight.

Professor Song said, "Children with low body weight often have limited treatment options and face many difficulties. I am proud and grateful to Yoon for enduring the treatment well," adding, "As more successful treatment experiences accumulate, non-surgical treatment of heart disease in premature infants could become the mainstream."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.