11 year-old boy in urgent need of heart remains in critical condition

SANTIAGO. -  The 11 year-old boy who has been placed at the top of the national priority list for a heart transplant, Felipe Cruzat, remains in critical condition at the Hospital Clínico de la Universidad Católica.

“Felipe has indeed been disconnected from the artificial breathing machine since Saturday; this is a situation that has been adopted mainly to keep him a bit more comfortable and so that he can communicate, although he continues to be in very critical condition”, the head of the pediatric cardiology unit at the UC Hospital, Felipe Heusser, told Radio Cooperativa.

The physician indicated that Felipe is suffering from dilated myocardium, which has caused him to require a great deal of treatment including medication, the use of machines and equipment, “in order to keep him alive and with an acceptable quality of existence”.

With regards to the development of the child’s health condition over the next few hours, Heusser insisted that it is difficult to make a diagnosis, but stated that the transplant continues to be classified as “urgent”.