More than 30 years after surviving a groundbreaking heart procedure as an infant, a Pennsylvania woman has reunited with the doctor who saved her - this time to ensure her own babies were healthy before birth.
ByMore than 30 years after surviving a groundbreaking heart procedure as an infant, a Pennsylvania woman has reunited with the doctor who saved her - this time to ensure her own babies were healthy before birth.
Brittany Yannick was just days old in August, 1993, when she was rushed to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with a life-threatening arrhythmia. Dr. Jack Rychik, now director of CHOP's fetal heart program, recalled the severity of her condition.
"But no matter what medication we were throwing at her, she was not responding, and the heart rate continued to increase, and the heart function continued to deteriorate," he said. Dr. Rychik decided to attempt an ablation - a procedure that destroys or removes problematic heart tissue.
"Today, this is fairly standard fare," he said. "But back then, it was still in development, and solely in the adult realm, and the catheters were not built for children. ""And, lo and behold, it stopped the rapid rhythm. And for the first time in Brittany's life.
Her heart rate came down," he said. She and Dr. Rychik stayed in touch, but their paths crossed again in a new way last summer when she became pregnant with twins.
"It was truly unimaginable. I hadn't seen him in years," Yannick said.
"I kind of just reached out to him to update him on the twins and the pregnancy and the fact that I needed to get the fetal echo. And he wanted to do it for us. So it was really special to have him there and see him and have him care for them.
""For me to witness the fact that our innovative actions 30+ years earlier had resulted in the potential for this life and this family and for future generations. It's just an incredible thing," he said. Related Topics
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