Atrial Septal Defect Repair in Children—Open Heart Surgery Side Effects and Warnings

Possible Complications

Complications are rare, but no procedure is free of risk. Possible complications may include:

• Bleeding
• Damage to the heart or lungs
• Reaction to the anesthesia (eg, light-headedness, low blood pressure, wheezing)
• Infection, including endocarditis (infection of the inner lining of the heart muscle)
• Heart attack
• Blood clot formation
• Arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm)

Some factors that may increase the risk of complications include:

• Pre-existing conditions (eg, poor kidney functioning)
• Low birth weight
• Recent infection

Discuss these risks with the doctor before the surgery.

Call Your Doctor If Any of the Following Occurs

After your child leaves the hospital, call your doctor if any of the following occurs:

• Signs of infection, including fever and chills
• Increased sweating
• Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or any discharge from the incision site
• Incision opens
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Increased pain
• Problems with urinating (eg, pain, burning, urgency or frequency of urination, blood in the urine) or not urinating
• Cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain
• Rattling in the chest
• Fatigue
• Rash
• Not wanting to eat or drink
• Noisy breathing