A baby born prematurely is now home with his family following a 16-month stay in the hospital after receiving a lifesaving heart defect procedure – the first for a baby so young.
DJ Edmonds was born about three months premature in January 2021 at a hospital in Ohio. A surviving twin, he experienced complications associated with premature birth, but when doctors discovered a heart murmur, they transferred him to a more specialized facility.
There, his mother, Danielle Edmonds recalled, DJ was ventilated to enable him to breathe but had to be resuscitated twice when his heart failed.
Doctors at Cleveland Clinic Children’s hospital discovered he had a rare heart defect that could have led to multiple organ defects, but after undergoing a novel surgery called a ventricular switch led by Hani Najm, the toddler is now at home and thriving with his family.
Developed by the Saudi pediatric and congenital heart surgeon, this is a novel method for treating a double-outlet right ventricle (DORV) – a rare, complex and life-threatening congenital heart defect that prevents normal blood flow from the heart’s two lower chambers to the lungs and other parts of the body.
“The ventricular switch procedure switches the right ventricle and the left ventricle,” explains Dr. Najm, who is chair of pediatric and adult congenital heart surgery at Cleveland Clinic. “So, instead of the left ventricle pumping to the body, as it normally does, we have it pump to the lungs. And the right ventricle, instead of pumping to the lungs, pumps to the rest of the body. We’ve found it to be quite effective in patients, like DJ, whose hearts have multiple abnormal connections.”
After being contacted by Danielle, Dr. Najm and his team were able to identify DJ would be an ideal candidate by using a 3D-printed model of his heart. The issue was that it was a newer procedure he hadn’t yet performed on a patient so young.
Thankfully, he was able to complete the surgery without complications and DJ’s family immediately noticed the baby’s color had improved and he was more responsive.
In May 2022, 16 months after his birth, he was finally healthy enough to go home. His parents see improvements every day.
“He is growing tremendously. He’s 21 pounds now,” says Danielle. “He’s moving around, standing, eating actual solid food instead of eating through a tube. He’s moving forward in the right direction.”
DJ’s father, DeAngelo Blake Sr, loves being greeted by the toddler when he comes home from work: “His smile has such an energy. If this kid can go through this much and still smile, then why can’t we?”
Danielle added: “When he was born, I was told he probably would not live a normal life, but look at him now. We’re looking forward to seeing what he’ll accomplish next. Nothing is out of his reach.”
