Dr. Tamara Todd was 5 months pregnant when she found out her unborn daughter had a heart defect and would most certainly need surgery within her first moments of life. Her maternal fetal medicine specialist in Hilo, Hawaii told Todd and her husband that their baby girl, whom they planned to name Kirana, had Tetralogy of Fallot. Hilo does not have a children’s hospital, and the one in Honolulu does not have regular cardiothoracic surgery services, so they decided the best option was to head to the mainland U.S for delivery and post natal care.
They chose Texas Children’s Hospital for a variety of reasons. At the beginning of her career as a doctor, Todd was a part of Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) from 2006 to 2008 in Botswana and Lesotho so she was familiar with the reputation of both Baylor and Texas Children’s.
“I knew Texas Children’s would be a great place to get the best care,” says Todd of her choice to move to Houston. “Not only is it ranked as one of the top pediatric hospitals for cardiology and heart surgery, but also my parents live in the Houston area, so it really just felt like home.”
Once the decision was made, Todd connected with Christie Moran, nurse coordinator from the Texas Children’s Fetal Center, and transferred her OB care at 36 weeks of pregnancy, and arranged prenatal consult with pediatric cardiology and pediatric surgery.
“Every single person that we interacted with during outpatient visits, my admission for induction and ultimate c-section, our time in the NICU with Kirana and, of course, the surgical team were all outstanding,” says Todd of her time in Houston. “Texas Children’s quickly felt like a home away from home for my family.”
Kirana was born on December 31, 2013 at the Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women and taken immediately to surgery to repair the defect in her heart. Dr. Charles D. Fraser led a team of specialists in surgery, including Dr. Shaine Morris from Cardiology and Dr. Erin Gottlieb from Anesthesiology. The team at the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit managed Kirana’s post-surgical care.
“We were very fortunate that Kirana’s tetralogy of fallot was prenatally diagnosed by her doctor in Hawaii. Her family was able to temporarily move to Houston and deliver at the Pavilion for Women,” according to Kirana’s cardiologist, Dr. Morris. “Kirana’s heart condition is one that we treat often at Texas Children’s, and thanks to a multidisciplinary team, led by Dr. Fraser, we were able to provide her with the best care, and Kirana’s prognosis is very good.”
Kirana’s surgery was a success, and now just a few months later, the family is back home in Hawaii with their beautiful, healthy daughter