“How can I explain a heart malformation surgery consultation to my child?”
My daughter has a heart malformation and will undergo surgery. How can I explain a heart malformation surgery to my child beforehand?
2 Answers
You can google a normal heart picture, print it out, and try to explain it and compare it to the abnormal one. The pediatric cardiologist should explain this in a better way.
How old is the child? If preschool a toy can be used to show where the heart is and explain it has a boo boo that needs to be fixed. Some use a bandaid over the chest area to illustrate this. A school age child usually can understand from pictures of the heart about what needs to be fixed, about anesthesia, and waking up in recovery with bandage on the chest. Get with the surgeon for other materials.
