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🇨🇴 Colombia /Health & Science

Doctor outlines treatment options for Lucas Murillo, the boy who asked Colombia’s president for a heart transplant

From El Tiempo · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Lucas Murillo arrived in Bucaramanga in generally stable condition but with a fever of about 39 degrees and signs of cyanosis and decompensation.
  • Doctors are treating an infection before performing a catheterization and further tests to assess his heart pressures and overall condition.
  • The options under review include Fontan surgery, a heart transplant, or an artificial heart.

Lucas Francesco Murillo García arrived in Bucaramanga for specialist treatment after being transferred from Cúcuta on August 31 by ambulance plane operated by the Cardiovascular Foundation.

Víctor Castillo, president of the medical complex treating him, said the boy entered in generally good condition but had a fever of about 39 degrees. “We saw him quite cyanotic and decompensated,” Castillo told Noticias Caracol.

We saw him quite cyanotic and decompensated.

· Víctor CastilloThe doctor described Lucas Murillo’s condition when he arrived for specialist care.

Doctors are first treating an infection before carrying out a catheterization, a CT scan and other examinations needed to determine the next stage of care. “Once the fever subsides, we will perform the catheterization because the risk of infecting the heart is very high,” Castillo said.

Essentially half a heart, with only his right heart. The left one was atrophied during gestation.

· Víctor CastilloCastillo explained the congenital heart condition Lucas was born with.

Lucas was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital condition in which the left side of the heart does not develop properly. Castillo described the condition as “essentially half a heart, with only his right heart. The left one was atrophied during gestation.”

The medical team must assess the pressure in his pulmonary artery and his overall hemodynamic condition before deciding whether he can undergo Fontan surgery, the third stage of treatment for children with a single functioning ventricle. If that option proves unsuitable, doctors may consider a heart transplant or an artificial heart.

Once the fever subsides, we will perform the catheterization because the risk of infecting the heart is very high.

· Víctor CastilloThe doctor explained why treating Lucas’s infection must come before further cardiac testing.
About this summary

Originally published by El Tiempo in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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