Picture caption: Dr. Hugo Issa, a cardiac surgeon on UOHI’s ACHD Team repairing a congenital defect at the UOHI.
“The ACHD team is made up of three cardiologists, two surgeons, two nurses and a clerk. We are a small team, but I would like to believe we make a big impact.”
— Nurse Carolynne Brousseau-Whaley
Dr. Gyaandeo Maharajh says that “congenital disease, and particularly Congenital Cardiac disease, is a ‘faultless’ disease that babies are born with. Many times, the heart problems of these patients are not isolated to the cardiac system alone and will affect all aspects of their lives across the spectrum of their life. This could mean surgeries as a baby, their activity levels as a child or young adult, body issues as an adolescent, related to sternal scars and other differences in body shapes/function, pregnancy issues as an adult, family planning, blood thinners, more surgeries, and longevity.
It is a lot for these patients to carry and requires a team of dedicated specialists with a whole life perspective. When patients transition to adult care from pediatric care, the patient and their family often face a difficult new reality. Despite the number of adult patients with congenital heart disease continuing to grow exponentially, they make up a much smaller proportion of the adults with ‘adult or acquired ‘ heart disease. Consequently, the resources, research and personnel dedicated to treating this group is often lacking.
We are very fortunate in Ottawa to have an Adult Congenital Heart Disease team at the Ottawa Heart Institute with dedicated cardiology personnel and world experience to help this group of patients and plan their transition to adult care with staff from the children’s hospital. Our two CHD surgeons work at both the children’s hospital and the Heart Institute providing a true full spectrum of care both surgically and socially. Our dedicated clinical nurse specialist is constantly in touch with our patients helping them arrange their cardiac care but also helping them to navigate other specialist appointments and social issues.
But we need your help.
The field of cardiac care is advancing rapidly both in terms of clinical care and surgical techniques. The accompanying research is most often directed at adults with acquired heart disease. This is usually an older and more complex group of people. We need more research that is directed towards our younger patients who want to be active, working members of society for a long time. We need a larger team of connected, well-resourced care specialists so that we can support these young people in reaching their full potential. So that every procedure they have endured, will feel worthwhile. We need YOUR help to help fulfill the hopes and dreams of each mom and dad keeping vigil at the bedside while their precious child recovers from surgery.
Dr. Hugo Issa, a cardiac surgeon on the ACHD team says that being able to operate on patients, ranging from tiny newborns to 70-years and beyond, is extremely gratifying.
Through years of extensive training, Dr. Issa has been able to witness firsthand the evolution of surgical techniques and procedures used to treat CHD patients, who often require multiple heart operations over their lifetime. “Surgical procedures for CHD patients have advanced so rapidly that surgeons returning to operate on a heart, that they have previously repaired, might choose a different more innovative technique for the revision surgery.”
Frequently witnessing the challenges faced by young adults transitioning to the ACHD clinic, Dr. Issa says that further research will provide a better understanding of the needs of these patients and reveal new ways of improving their quality of care and quality of life. In addition to much needed research into medications and other physical aspects of CHD, he prioritizes the availability of tailored mental health support for his patients who are bravely navigating an unknown path.
In 2023, Dr. Issa joined the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario as a cardiac surgeon. Dr. Issa is an assistant professor in the Division of Cardiac Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the University of Ottawa and is currently conducting research in the field of adult and congenital cardiac surgery.
Dr. Hugo Issa is a cardiac surgeon at CHEO, an Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine, and a cardiac surgeon with the ACHD Team at UOHI.
P.S. Click here to read Gabriella’s story and how the ACHD Team has made an impact on her life.
