Introduction: Throughout this website I will discuss the different approaches to medical anthropology in looking at the illness hypoplastic left heart syndrome. These
approaches are bio/ecological, ethnomedical, experiential, critical and applied along with a reflection on everything discussed.
approaches are bio/ecological, ethnomedical, experiential, critical and applied along with a reflection on everything discussed.
Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
I choose the illness hypoplastic left heart syndrome because it is a condition that is very close to me. That is because it is an illness that my younger brother was born with and has dealt with his whole life. Even though at this time he requires no additional treatment it is a condition that will need to be monitored for the rest of his life. With the possibility of a transplant
being required later in his life. It was a long process to get through the battery of three separate surgeries to complete his treatment. At the time of his first operation in 1995 he was the smallest child to survive the operation at four pounds eight ounces with being a mouth premature. The trauma of the first procedure was so great for such a small baby that they had leave his chest open for a week to allow the swelling to go down before they could close him up. Because of that they had to keep him in a completely sterile environment for that duration. Not only was this process hard on my brother but it was extremely
hard on my family as well. With all of his medical issues my mother was not able to hold my brother until he was three months old, and even then he was still on a respirator. So the scope of this illness goes well beyond the cut and dry medical procedure. The Mayo Clinic defines this condition as "Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a complex and rare heart defect present at birth (congenital). In hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the left side of the heart is critically underdeveloped." Aside from my personal involvement in this illness we can look at facts about this disease and how technology has improved along with dropping
mortality rates. But cultural and economic factors are definitely an issue especially outside of the United States. If not diagnosed prior to birth with ultra sounds you would not even know that a child had this condition. Then they would die within a couple days of being born, the only sign would be the blue color to the skin because of the oxygen not being circulated properly through the body because of the heart defect. In less developed countries they would have no way to treat let alone diagnose this condition. In their cultures they could see it as if a demon or other unknown entity is possessing the child and taking the life out of them which results in the child's death.
being required later in his life. It was a long process to get through the battery of three separate surgeries to complete his treatment. At the time of his first operation in 1995 he was the smallest child to survive the operation at four pounds eight ounces with being a mouth premature. The trauma of the first procedure was so great for such a small baby that they had leave his chest open for a week to allow the swelling to go down before they could close him up. Because of that they had to keep him in a completely sterile environment for that duration. Not only was this process hard on my brother but it was extremely
hard on my family as well. With all of his medical issues my mother was not able to hold my brother until he was three months old, and even then he was still on a respirator. So the scope of this illness goes well beyond the cut and dry medical procedure. The Mayo Clinic defines this condition as "Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a complex and rare heart defect present at birth (congenital). In hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the left side of the heart is critically underdeveloped." Aside from my personal involvement in this illness we can look at facts about this disease and how technology has improved along with dropping
mortality rates. But cultural and economic factors are definitely an issue especially outside of the United States. If not diagnosed prior to birth with ultra sounds you would not even know that a child had this condition. Then they would die within a couple days of being born, the only sign would be the blue color to the skin because of the oxygen not being circulated properly through the body because of the heart defect. In less developed countries they would have no way to treat let alone diagnose this condition. In their cultures they could see it as if a demon or other unknown entity is possessing the child and taking the life out of them which results in the child's death.
Bibliography
Image: http://www.dupont.com/industries/health-care-and-medical.html accessed August 15,2013
Image: http://www.babypennington.com/?m=200801 accessed August 15, 2013
Mayo Clinic staff "hypoplastic left heart syndrome" http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypoplastic-left-heart-syndrome/DS00744 accessed August 14,2013
Image: http://www.dupont.com/industries/health-care-and-medical.html accessed August 15,2013
Image: http://www.babypennington.com/?m=200801 accessed August 15, 2013
Mayo Clinic staff "hypoplastic left heart syndrome" http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypoplastic-left-heart-syndrome/DS00744 accessed August 14,2013