Transposition of the Great Arteries and VSD: Oscar’s Story

Rosanna and Adam’s son, Oscar, was diagnosed with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) before he was born. The early detection meant he received life-saving treatment as soon as he arrived. This is his story, told by Rosanna:

During our 20-week scan, we were excited to find out the gender of our baby. All was going well until they got to the heart – they couldn’t get a clear view of all four chambers. We were told to go for walk to try and get the baby to move into a different position. Still no luck, so we were called back two days later when a specialist would try and get a clear view.

It was then our baby was diagnosed with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) with a hole in the heart (VSD). We were absolutely devastated and obviously feared the worst.

The Fetal Medicine team were still optimistic and told us what would happen going forward. They sent us home with some information and we were told to avoid Googling. We found Tiny Tickers and reading what other families had gone through, gave us so much hope. Seeing the images of babies after surgery gave us time to prepare for what was to come.

We had numerous scans, which meant we got to see our baby boy regularly. I was booked in to be induced on the 21st July for a natural birth. Due to a sudden infection, Oscar was delivered via emergency C-section at 18:40 on 25th July 2021, weighing 7lbs 9oz. He was taken straight to NICU and then to PICU in another hospital, which meant I was unable to see my son for four days. I relied on my husband for updates and video calls.

Oscar was started on prostin straight away and eventually had a balloon septoplasty, while his infection cleared, before his arterial switch operation on the 10th August. All procedures were a success, but Oscar developed a blood clot in his neck a few days later and this resulted in another operation.

Oscar was initially on ten different drips and had wires everywhere, including a feeding tube, so coming in daily and seeing they had gradually started to decrease was so reassuring. The staff were incredible during this time, not only supporting Oscar, buy also us. This put our minds at ease when we had to leave him to get some rest for a few hours in the charity accommodation.

Oscar was discharged on the 24th August. For two months we had to give Oscar injections twice a day to prevent any further clotting and he will have regular check-up appointments into adulthood. However, his medical team are extremely happy with the switch operation, which should mean no further surgeries.

Our brave little man has come on leaps and bounds and we couldn’t be prouder! Our true heart warrior!

Find out more about TGA and other congenital heart defects here.