The drop of water falling from the dilapidated ceiling is sometimes the only sound in the room, so charged is the atmosphere when Professor Raisky describes the upcoming operation to the parents. In two weeks, her daughter Marine (all first names have been changed), age 8, will benefit from one “ Potts intervention ». “It is the only operation I fear in the operating room. It is dangerous and has a significant mortality of 15 to 20%, while the mortality in the department is 1 to 2%.”the heart surgeon explains to them.

In his office in the Laennec building at the Necker-Enfants Malades hospital in Paris, he makes this clear right from the start, knowing this extremely rare type of operation well: “On the other hand, it works wonders when it works well. » With 1,200 operations per year, the Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris is the leading center for pediatric cardiac surgery in France. And even from Europe.

The feet under the father’s seat cross and uncross discreetly while the mother silently wipes her eyes and hangs on to every sentence spoken. If the specialist suggests this operation, it is because the natural development of these children, who suffer from a very rare lung disease, is not going well. But he must warn, there will be a critical moment “where he will no longer have control”while the passage of blood through the pulmonary artery is interrupted.

A few meters away, Marine is playing with lots of stuffed animals in the secretary’s office, where she was quickly sent at the beginning of the meeting. Nothing that could indicate how serious the situation is for the Braunkopf. It is this positive aspect that the surgeon also emphasizes after the flood of worrying data: Marine is the right size and she appears to be in good shape, he emphasizes. The mother finally takes a breath. Behind her, several bags show the journey of the family, originally from Rhône-Alpes. Like almost half of the small patients treated in the Paris department who come from other regions.

“I’d rather hit you over the head so you’re prepared, but today I think it’s his best choice, his best chance.”specifies the doctor before showing where the postoperative scar will be, thus concluding the consultation. “She said she didn’t want a scar.”She tries to tell the mother with a smile before she finds her daughter. And let the countdown begin. “It’s okay, she won’t see that I cried? »

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