North Texas Doctors Using Video Game Technology Before Complicated Surgeries
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Rowan Sanders delights her mother with her baby talk but just a year ago, things weren't going right.
"When she was born, she didn't pink up like we expected," Rowan's mom Haley Sanders told CBS 11 news.
Rowan was born with a congenital heart defect called, the Taussig-Bing anomaly, which requires surgery.
"Her aorta and the pulmonary artery were in the wrong spot," Sanders said.
Her heart hadn't developed correctly and doctors didn't know exactly what to expect.
Dr. Anshoo Tandon, cardiologist at Children's Medical Center knew just how complicated this could get.
He knew the surgeons needed to take a closer look. Using virtual reality software, often used by gamers, Dr. Tandon created a 3D image of Rowan's heart.
That helped doctors to take a closer look at the heart and see where the arteries and aortas were placed.
"My goal is to make sure the surgeon is as best informed about what the heart disease as before they get to the operating room," Dr. Tandon said. "Because that way there is less time in the operating room, less time under anesthesia and less time on the heart-lung bypass machine."
Rowan has had three successful surgeries.
Right now, the family is celebrating her every step towards health.
