How is it done?
The test is performed through a small tube, known as the name of transducer, which is placed over the maternal abdomen. It sends sound waves to a very high frequency through the mother’s skin and other tissues to the heart of the baby. The sound waves bounce off the heart structures, the transducer collects them and sends them to the computer that interpreted the sounds and creating a picture of the different parts of the heart.

Congenital Diseases
Specialists in pediatric cardiology, explain that the ductus arteriosus is a disease that is more common in premature babies.
Normally in utero the aorta and pulmonary arteries that are linking the heart with the lung and also with the systemic circulation of the body are connected, which balances the pressures of the two systems, but once the child born, the sudden change in pressure causes the duct is closed. This is normal, but occasionally something goes wrong and the duct does not close, then, there is the communication with the venous blood pressure and produces a congenital heart disease. A disease is a congenital malformation that the child is from before birth but sometimes only detected at 2, 3 or even 9 years. Hence the importance to educate the community to learn to do so as soon as possible so we can offer children a normal life.

Pay close attention if …
• Your first child has congenital heart defects.
• A family history of congenital heart disease (uncles, grandparents or other relatives)
• You took no medications approved by your doctor or alcohol during pregnancy.
• you have diabetes.
• had rubella during pregnancy.

Children main victims

When discussing epilepsy, we should rather talk about epilepsy, both the diseases are different, both the prognosis and treatment modalities are different. If children are affected first, most are fortunately benign epilepsy in children. The maximum rate of the disease is between 0 and 1 year and remains very important to 10 years. It then gradually decreases to remain at low levels between 30 and 50 years and back dramatically after age 75.

It is estimated that the average lifespan of epilepsy is 12 to 15 years. Some minor forms always recover while others never experience spontaneous remission.

It is actually four different types of epilepsy:

• The spontaneous benign epilepsy (20 to 30% of cases). Patients respond well to medical treatment that can stop after a few years;
• Epilepsy pharmacosensible (30 to 40% of cases). The remission under treatment is permanent and it is possible to consider stopping the medication;
• Epilepsy addicted (10 to 20% of cases). Stopping treatment leads to relapse systematic;
• Epilepsy drug (20% of cases). This severe form of epilepsy resistant to all drug treatments. At the individual level, this form of epilepsy is a major handicap to the socio-professional often major.

While neurological examination does not stress any peculiarity in the first three forms of the disease, it is mostly unusual for drug-resistant patients. It was then that surgery can sometimes be considered.

Advances in surgery

The severe epilepsy resistant to medication is a real handicap for patients. Over 80 000 people in France are concerned. For many, surgery may be synonymous with healing. Lack of equipment, lack of resources, the operation is to perform an ablation zone of the brain known as the “seizure” is still practiced by a limited number of teams. However, it should be able to act quickly. From childhood, even when brain plasticity is still important. “But now 200 to 300 patients are operated every year”, said Dr. Dominique Broglin, while about 50 000 people are potential candidates for intervention.