Dr. Jorge Salazar and Zavin Arellano

UMMC Congenital Heart Surgery Team Makes History with Newborn

Jorge Salazar, MD, propelled Mississippi to the medical forefront once again by performing the state's first arterial switch procedure on a Heidelberg newborn.

On Aug. 4, Salazar, chief of congenital heart surgery for University of Mississippi Health Care, led a congenital heart surgery team at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) to perform a complex procedure that involved switching the heart's major arteries, which were reversed, back to their normal position and moving the delicate coronary arteries with the aorta.

"It's one of the most complex heart surgeries done in children, and it's the first time it has ever been performed in the state of Mississippi," Salazar said. "This surgery represents the fact that we offer all congenital heart services here in Mississippi with excellent results."

The patient at the center of the arterial switch procedure was 2-week-old Zavin Arellano, whose mother, Georgianna Joe, had noticed his strange breathing pattern when he was three days old.

"I could see his stomach going in and out, in and out," said Joe, the mother of two other sons, ages 8 and 9. "He was breathing heavy."

Joe notified a nurse, who alerted a physician and contacted a specialist. "He told me when he listened to his heart, he heard an echo," Joe recalled. "They said his oxygen level was low."

Soon after, an AirCare crew was dispatched to Laurel to transport Zavin to UMMC for a thorough evaluation. He was diagnosed with the transposition of the great vessels and a ventricular septal defect. In layman's terms, he was born with two major heart vessels switched—and a hole in his heart.

"I remember when they told me. I just cried a lot," Joe said. "But we had lots of prayers."

Support from the hospital staff helped Joe cope with the stress of the medical emergency and remain at Zavin's bedside while her husband, Roberto Arellano, worked and cared for the older sons.

"It was scary at first, but whatever would help him survive, we had to do it," she said.

After the successful procedure, Zavin's heart was diagnosed as normal, with a positive lifelong outlook.

Since joining the UMMC medical staff in April, Salazar and the congenital heart team have operated on 55 children with heart defects–all with excellent outcomes. Before Salazar's arrival, Zavin and his mother would have needed to leave the state to seek treatment in a medical hub with specialists trained to repair the defects.

Giorgio Aru, MD, a professor of surgery and a heart transplant surgeon, said the pioneering procedure for the state represents UMMC's continued legacy as a frontrunner in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

"For many years, the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery has been actively looking for a national leader in pediatric cardiac surgery totally dedicated to the creation and leadership of a pediatric cardiac center," he said. "We were finally able to recruit Dr. Salazar, who has the skills and the vision necessary to place the University of Mississippi Medical Center at the same level of the major centers in the country for pediatric cardiac care."

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