Tommy Black, pediatric cardiology patient

Fridays were 'visit Tommy Black day' for Bernard Fish, M.D., a pediatric cardiologist at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center. Once a week, for the first three months of Tommy's life, Dr. Fish would travel the 35 miles to Danbury, Connecticut, to examine and monitor Tommy's condition. He was born with a set of grave congenital heart defects which lowered the oxygen levels in his blood and turned his skin a bluish-purple. Because the operation to repair this condition is best tolerated when a child is three to six months old, Tommy required close attention, constant monitoring and regular examinations.

Tommy's parents, Ken and Lee Ann Black, chose Maria Fareri Children's Hospital because of its unparalleled excellence in intricate pediatric cardiac surgery. To perform the operation Dr. Fish turned to the hospital's Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Suvro Sett, M.D., whose experience with newborns is second to none.

But before Dr. Sett could repair Tommy's heart, a shunt had to be inserted to increase blood flow. It was a temporary fix to get the baby to an age where he could handle the full repair. It worked for a while, but Tommy's heart would not wait. Without hesitation, Dr. Sett cancelled his planned vacation and scheduled the operation for February 23.

In a procedure that took over eight hours, Dr. Sett and his team of cardiac specialists patched a hole between two ventricles, corrected the blood flow to Tommy's aorta, and did a permanent repair to his pulmonary valve. In the end, Tommy came through like a champ. Ken and Lee Ann credit the team approach to pediatric cardiology at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital for Tommy's incredible turnaround. 'At every turn,' says Lee Ann, 'people were doing things above and beyond the expected'. Thanks to Dr. Fish, Dr. Sett and their teamwork approach to cardiac care, Tommy celebrated his first birthday in September. He's now a happy ...and healthy ...one year old.

Learn more about Pediatric Cardiology at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital.