MIAMI — A South Florida boy is back on the baseball field after doctors used virtual reality technology to treat a complex heart defect without open-heart surgery.
Matthew, 12, was born with a congenital heart condition that went undetected until a routine doctor’s visit.
His mother, Yessenia Sierra, said she suspected something was wrong and sought additional opinions before turning to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.
“It was a birth defect that he was born with and was never discovered, which does require open-heart surgery,” Sierra said.
At Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, doctors led by Dr. Shyam Sathanandam used virtual reality technology to build a 3D model of Matthew’s heart, allowing the medical team to study and rehearse the procedure before performing it.
Sathanandam said the approach allowed the team to treat the defect using a minimally invasive catheter-based procedure rather than traditional surgery.
“There was no cutting, no stitching. I don’t even know if the mom even saw how we entered his body, but we did it minimally invasive and fixed his heart,” he said.
The VR system gave doctors a detailed view of the defect and helped guide placement of a graft to repair the issue.
“To some degree, we are plumbers, but we use gaming technology pretty much,” Sathanandam said.
The hospital said Nicklaus Children’s is among the few facilities using virtual reality in this way during actual procedures, rather than only for planning and simulation.
Sierra said she was relieved to learn there was an alternative to open-heart surgery.
“Learning I had an alternative that would save his life and heart was really amazing,” she said.
Matthew recovered quickly and was back home within days, his mother said.
“Within two days being home he was already happy, telling everyone thank you,” she said.
Now, Matthew has returned to everyday activities, including playing baseball.
“I finally have my Phillies jersey. I play again in August. I have a lot of friends there,” he said.
Sierra said the outcome has been life-changing for her son.
“It’s about having a doctor who tells you, ‘I’ve got this. He’s going to be fine,’ And that changed the world for me,”' she said.
Sathanandam said cases like Matthew’s highlight the importance of combining medical expertise with new technology.
“For her to trust us to do the right thing on her son, and then to do it, and then today I see Matthew, and he’s an ordinary 12-year-old boy,” he said.
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