2-Pound Baby Among Smallest in World to Undergo Big Heart Procedure

“Mighty Girl’s” parents are now calling their 2-pound daughter “Mighty Feisty Girl” after an internationally known heart specialist opened a blocked artery that was preventing the flow of blood from her tiny, walnut-sized heart to her lungs.

Alexandra Mae Van Kirk, the daughter of Matt and Heidi, s one of the smallest infants ever to go through the life-saving procedure to correct a congenital defect, performed July 23 at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, MLive/The Grand Rapids Press reports.

A week later, “she’s just doing fantastic,” Matt Van Kirk said.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Joseph Vettukattil, a pioneering interventional cardiologist from England who was recruited by the hospital a year ago to be its chief of pediatric cardiology.

A thickened valve pinched against one of the arteries to Alexandra’s heart, forcing the heart into overtime work to deliver blood to the baby’s lung. Vettukattil performed a pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty, a procedure he’s done about 300 times over the past 20 years.

He said the surgery was “very tricky” because of the baby’s tiny heart and required some modifications to the catheter tubing. Before Alexandra, the smallest infant to have received the surgery weighed 4 pounds.

Heidi was 32 weeks pregnant when Alexandra was born July 7 in an emergency Cesarean section. Previous ultrasound exams had shown the baby was small, and by the time Heidi went for her 32-week exam, doctors said there was only a 35 percent chance the baby would be born alive.

The Van Kirks’ Mighty Girl announced her arrival at 8:35 p.m. that night with a powerful cry that defied her size – she weighed just 2 pounds, 3 ounces – and a diagnosis of critical pulmonary stenosis.

Doctors wanted her to grow more before performing the surgery, but the dark-eyed baby who was born with a thatch of dark hair had another medical issue, Hirschsprung’s disease, which affected her ability to pass stools. When she was 11 days old, she underwent her first surgery to allow waste to bypass the intestine. The longer operation to remove part of her colon will be performed later.

The operation did not improve Alexandra’s blood-oxygen level, so Vettukattil decided to perform the balloon catheter procedure ahead of schedule.

Vettukattil said the operation was a success and she shouldn’t need additional heart procedures.

“She’s cured. As far as her heart goes, she should be fine for the rest of her life,” he said.

That’s a huge relief for the parents of the pint-sized miracle who will now have the chance to “grow into whatever God has for her,” Heidi said. “There is a sense of relief that is almost unexplainable.”

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PHOTO: A surgical team at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital led by Dr. Joseph Vettukattil performed a surgery on a 2-pound baby that will give the infant a chance at a healthy life. (Photo: Spectrum Health)