LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. USA - Three year-old Bunlak Song is comforted by his sister, Bunkek Song, after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport of Cambodia on March 6, 2011. Bunlak Song was brought to the United States by Hearts Without Boundaries, a Long Beach, Calif.-based non-profit group, to help repair his heart. Photo by Jeff Gritchen / Long Beach Press-Telegram (Jeff Gritchen)
Doctors want dental issues resolved to avoid complications.
Doctors want dental issues resolved to avoid complications.
By Greg Mellen, Staff writer
Posted: 08/09/2011
LONG BEACH, California — An impoverished Cambodian boy will have to wait a bit longer for open-heart surgery that could save his life.
After a dental exam conducted at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, it was learned that Bunlak Song will need dental work done before he's cleared for planned surgery, according to Peter Chhun, whose nonprofit is sponsoring the boy.
It had been hoped that Bunlak could have surgery as early as this week. Now it is unknown when the surgery will be performed.
Dental decay can be problematic when dealing with heart surgery. Because the mouth always has extensive bacteria, the fear is that the bacteria can enter the blood stream and infect the surgical patch used to close the defect in the heart.
Bunlak suffers from a large hole in his heart known as a ventricular septal defect, as well as several other defects.
Left untreated the defect will cause irreparable lung damage and shorten the child's life.
Chhun said he was told Bunlak would need several of his baby teeth extracted and other dental work.
In 2008, Davik Teng, another Cambodian child sponsored by Chhun, also had to have dental work before her heart surgery. That set Davik's surgery back by nearly a month.
Bunlak was originally scheduled to leave the country no later than Sept. 7. The surgery delay with likely push that back.
However, Chhun said he'd rather doctors take the cautious approach.
"It's better safe than sorry," Chhun said. "It will take a
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little more time, but I can see that he's safe and I know that he's going to be OK."
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291
LONG BEACH, California — An impoverished Cambodian boy will have to wait a bit longer for open-heart surgery that could save his life.
After a dental exam conducted at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, it was learned that Bunlak Song will need dental work done before he's cleared for planned surgery, according to Peter Chhun, whose nonprofit is sponsoring the boy.
It had been hoped that Bunlak could have surgery as early as this week. Now it is unknown when the surgery will be performed.
Dental decay can be problematic when dealing with heart surgery. Because the mouth always has extensive bacteria, the fear is that the bacteria can enter the blood stream and infect the surgical patch used to close the defect in the heart.
Bunlak suffers from a large hole in his heart known as a ventricular septal defect, as well as several other defects.
Left untreated the defect will cause irreparable lung damage and shorten the child's life.
Chhun said he was told Bunlak would need several of his baby teeth extracted and other dental work.
In 2008, Davik Teng, another Cambodian child sponsored by Chhun, also had to have dental work before her heart surgery. That set Davik's surgery back by nearly a month.
Bunlak was originally scheduled to leave the country no later than Sept. 7. The surgery delay with likely push that back.
However, Chhun said he'd rather doctors take the cautious approach.
"It's better safe than sorry," Chhun said. "It will take a
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little more time, but I can see that he's safe and I know that he's going to be OK."
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291
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