Question
An 88-day-old child, after a cold, showed a 2.7mm ventricular septal defect on an echocardiogram. Is there a possibility of spontaneous healing?
Answer
Ventricular septal defect is one of the most common congenital heart diseases. Generally speaking, for infants under one year old, small ventricular septal defects have the possibility of spontaneous healing. According to your description, the child’s heart defect is 2.7 millimeters. It is recommended to undergo another echocardiogram at six months, at which time a decision will be made on whether and when to proceed with surgical treatment.