Healing Children's Hearts in Costa Rica and Beyond

February was the start of our race against Congenital Heart Disease for children in Latin America.

COSTA RICA

During the week of February 17th to 21st, a mission was conducted to treat five high-complexity cases involving patients with atrioventricular canal defects. This condition leads to structural heart issues characterized by holes in the heart chambers and problems with the valves, disrupting normal blood flow. In a healthy heart, the four chambers work together to circulate blood: they receive blood from the body, send it to the lungs for oxygenation, and then return it to the body. However, in these patients, the presence of holes prevents an efficient flow towards the lungs, resulting in poorly oxygenated blood.

Dr. Eric Griffiths, Surgical Director of Heart Transplant at the University of Utah, and Dr. Schitij Mistry, Director of Quality and Outcomes at Boston Children’s Hospital, returned to Costa Rica since their last mission back in September, 2024. 

For Costa Rica, we aim to deploy two more missions, one at the end of March, lead by Dr. Joe Forbess, Director of the Children’s Heart Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the last later in the year.

PARAGUAY

We are also very excited to announce that we have approved an eight-mission program in Paraguay, to be executed over 2025 and 2026, starting in May this year, led by our Argentinian surgeon, Dr. Christian Kreutzer, and his team.

In Paraguay, approximately 140,000 children are born each year, and it is estimated that around 1,200 of these will have congenital heart diseases. Of these patients, 35% will need surgeries or procedures within the first 30 days of life, and up to 50% within the first year of life. Therefore, the country requires between 400 and 700 surgeries annually. Currently, our service performs between 100 and 150 surgeries annually. Given the country’s needs, the high volume of patients, and the long waiting list for scheduled surgeries, we aim to double the number of cardiac surgeries offered by our service.

 This two-year plan addresses this problem by improving medical teams' competencies, knowledge, and expertise, emphasizing cardiovascular surgery for complex congenital heart diseases, and providing them with the necessary tools and leadership to empower them to meet these challenges.

 MEXICO

 From March 19th until the 22nd, our board members, Dr. Eduardo DaCruz (co-chair), Richard Duron (co-chair), and Dr. Schitij Mistry, Director of Quality and Outcomes at Boston Children’s Hospital, will return to Mexico to finalize the program details and start deploying regular surgical and training missions.

Last year, between July 9th and 12th, the Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez hosted a training mission led by Dr. Gabriel Cassalet from Colombia and a six-member team from Colombia and the United States. This training was designed to provide a group of 35 local practitioners with up-to-date standards of practice and recommendations to optimize clinical decision-making regarding the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program (“ECMO”).

HONDURAS

Early this year, the Hospital María Especialidades Pediátricas, the only pediatric hospital in Honduras, approached us to assess and review an opportunity to expand our programs into this country. Several meetings have occurred, and very soon, an exploratory mission will be coordinated to determine the needs and stages where Surgeons of Hope can assist.

To respond to our supporters, ensuring that our activities align with measurable goals that leave a long-term impact is always mandatory.