A Change of Guard

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Thursday 5 May 2011

No local surgery for Cambodian heart patient


Bunkek Song holds her 3-year-old brother, heart patient Bunlak Song, in the Cambodian New Year Parade in Long Beach on Saturday. Jeff Gritchen Staff Photographer (Jeff Gritchen)

Complications cause Miller to pass on operation

By Greg Mellen,
Contra Costa Times Staff Writer
Posted: 4th May, 2011

LONG BEACH -- After a cardiac catheterization procedure at Miller Children's Hospital revealed an additional defect in the heart of an impoverished Cambodian boy needing surgery, another hospital will need to be found to operate on the child.

A cardiac team at the Long Beach hospital determined surgery for Bunlak Song would be too risky for the local hospital at this time.

Pediatric cardiologist Dominic Blurton said information from the test would be forwarded to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and an international team in the Dominican Republic for their consideration.

Although Blurton agreed with his colleagues that the surgery was beyond the scope of Miller Children's, he believed the boy could be cared for elsewhere.

"We are not quite prepared for this type of a challenge," Blurton said, adding that it is not unusual for Miller to refer children to other hospitals where they receive treatment.

Peter Chhun, founder of Hearts Without Boundaries, which brought Bunlak to the U.S. for treatment, said he would continue to explore options both in the Southland and abroad.

"We will not give up," Chhun said. "We'll take it one step at a time."

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