PATHOLOGY CLUB MEETING APRIL 2003

Dr. Wendy Gunther Presents Unscary Congenital Heart & Lung 

Wendy Gunther, MD, better know as Dr. Wendy, a specialist in pediatric pathology in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Norfolk, Virginia, presented Congenital Heart and Lung Made No Longer Scary at the recent Pathology Club. "I'm the only attending who always brings food!" she said.

"•The best way to learn something is to draw it badly three or four times while explaining it to someone else," she said. So using bad drawings in a great talk, she compared normal fetal heart and lung development with defective development--starting with the most common congenital heart defects: Tetralogy of Fallot, atrial septal defect (ASD), ventricular septal defect (VSD), transposition of the great vessels, and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. 

The second best way to learn may be hidden in the lasting impression Dr. Gunther made when comparing congenital heart defect (CHD) diagnosis, prognosis and treatment in the 1950's with the dramatic achievements made today. "In 1951, CHD caused 1% of all deaths," she said. "Prognosis was poor and only the simplest surgeries could be performed on the human heart."

By comparison, the once fatal Tetralogy of Fallot, today causes less than 5% mortality with children operated on in infancy. They go on to lead normal lives. Similarly, ASD and VSD, fatal in 1950, are surgically corrected in the first year of life, allowing for normal growth and development.

Concerning the lungs, there are just "three things to hear a little about," she said. Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM), intralobar and extralobar sequestrations, and tracheomalacia laryngeal papillomatosis. CCAM lesions and sequestrations are treated surgically and have good long-term prognoses. Papillomatosis is caused by exposure to Human Papilloma Virus during the peripartum period and is treated with drugs and repeated surgeries to remove recurring lesions. 

The next Pathology Club meeting will be held this Fall 2003. We'll keep you posted on the exact date and time.

The Pathology Club is sponsored by the VCU Department of Pathology. Please join us. For information, call Hattie Wyche at (804) 827-1079, or email: hmwyche@hsc.vcu.edu.