New trial aims to improve child heart surgery recovery

A Birmingham-led clinical study will seek to improve recovery times for children who have undergone heart surgery.

The trial, which is being funded by the British Heart Foundation, will involve 220 children and focus on those who require open heart surgery to repair congenital defects.

The study, led by researchers at the University of Birmingham, will compare two fluids which are used to stop the heart bearing during operations, the aim of which is to see which results in the best recovery.

Th £570,000 trial will compare a version called del Nido cardioplegia with St Thomas’ cardioplegia, with fifty per cent of the children receiving one fluid and the rest the other.

The research will be led by consultant Nigel Drury from the University of Birmingham and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Mr Drury said finding the best fluid to protect the heart during surgery could “lead to better long-term outcomes, with less injury and scarring to the heart muscle”.

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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