New surgeons lead renewal of cardiac care at B.C. Children’s Hospital

The addition of multiple new surgeons is leading the renewal of the cardiac care unit treating the province’s smallest, sickest babies.

Two years ago, the cardiac surgical program at B.C. Children’s Hospital was virtually on life support, amid a bitter human resources dispute and a lack of available doctors.

But staff and patients say the program’s pulse has stabilized, and is only getting stronger.

“They saved my baby’s life, so we are forever indebted in that regard,” Leanne Epp told Global News.

1:57 Behind the scenes of caring for B.C.’s youngest patients

When Epp’s son Arlo was born in April, doctors already knew he had major health problems. There was a hole in his heart, and he didn’t have the right arteries feeding his lungs.

Epp said the care team was frank with her that her son’s prognosis for survival wasn’t good.

“It’s a hard thing to wrap your head around, this perfect little baby that you know you’ve made, and you want to make memories with — it’s scary not being able to fix that yourself and to have to trust other people to do their best and to help your baby live,” Epp said.

“But he pulled it off.”

Arlo’s surgery was performed by Dr. Mohammed Al Aklabi, who signed on with the hospital last year, and now splits his time between B.C. Children’s and Edmonton.

Al Aklabi said the team was able to patch the hole in Arlo’s heart and create new arteries to feed his lungs, a complex and technically demanding surgery that’s given the boy a new chance at life.

“This child was actually not meant to survive the surgery or anything, but this is one example of the success stories we have had here,” he said.

“You could see him thriving. He stayed in the ICU for a few days and maybe went home in a couple of weeks.”

2:24 BC Children’s Hospital pediatric heart transplants suspended

In June 2021, the hospital’s pediatric heart transplant program was suddenly suspended, leaving families scrambling to find specialized care.

The Provincial Health Services Authority publicly attributed the issue to “an immediate shortage of cardiac surgeons,” but the problem was alleged to be rooted in management handling of a toxic workplace dispute between two surgeons.

In the months that followed, there were delays and cancellations, and some families had to travel out of province for care.

Since bringing on Al Aklabi, the hospital has hired two additional surgeons.

Al Aklabi told Global News the surgical unit has performed up to 500 procedures in the last two years, including 40 cases as complex as baby Arlo’s.

Dr. Erik Skarsgard, surgeon in chief of the department of pediatric surgery at B.C. Children’s Hospital, said the surgical team has made major progress in reducing wait lists and improving family experiences.

He acknowledged the hospital still needs more nurses, but said it has focused heavily on a recruiting strategy.

“We’re doing everything we can to optimize the teams that care for the cardiac sciences children by looking at novel models for how we deliver care in the ICU for example, to try and make the most of the time that we have surgeons and anesthesiologists,” he said.

“What we are seeing is we are getting more cases done in the last 12 months,” he added.

Baby Arlo, meanwhile, is happy and healthy — though not out of the woods: Epp said he’ll likely require at least two more surgeries as his heart and lungs grow.

But she said the care she’s received has helped take some of the fear and anxiety out of each visit.

“One of the worst feelings is coming into the hospital with your sick baby, not knowing if you will be able to come out,” she said.

“There is a lot of kindness here.”