We are the combination of four hospitals: the General Hospital, the Children’s Hospital, the Women’s Hospital and the Traumatology, Rehabilitation and Burns Hospital. We are part of the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus: a world-leading health park where healthcare plays a crucial role.
Patients are the centre and the core of our system. We are professionals committed to quality care and our organizational structure breaks down the traditional boundaries between departments and professional groups, with an exclusive model of knowledge areas.
Would you like to know what your stay at Vall d'Hebron will be like? Here you will find all the information.
The commitment of Vall d'Hebron University Hospital to innovation allows us to be at the forefront of medicine, providing first class care adapted to the changing needs of each patient.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) encompasses a series of anomalies that all have a very small, or “hypoplastic”, left ventricle, which is incapable of pumping the required amount of blood to supply all the organs and tissue in the body. In this situation, the right ventricle keeps blood circulating. Children with this type of anomaly tend to have other structures of the left side of the heart that are also smaller. Often the mitral valve, the aortic valve or the aorta itself are smaller than they should be. Hypoplasia of the left chambers is one of the most serious heart defects, although very good outcomes are achieved in centres with experience of the condition such as ours.
It is often diagnosed in the foetus during an echocardiogram. This test can identify which structures are affected by the syndrome in order to decide the best treatment.
These anomalies are usually treated with surgery during the first week of the baby’s life. This operation connects all the vessels coming out of the heart into just one, to ensure blood flows to the body. This procedure is known as “the Norwood procedure”.
In this first surgery, blood reaches the lungs via a conduit that exits the aorta (systemic-pulmonary fistula). Two further procedures will be needed. The aim of this surgery is to make the heart work solely with the oxygenated blood it receives from the lungs, and to pump it to the tissues of the body. Blood flows to the lungs through the network of veins that transport unoxygenated blood (Glenn and Fontan procedure).
Children who have had this heart defect must have their neurodevelopment closely monitored by experts in this field, to evaluate the child’s educational development and growth. Close monitoring is necessary from a cardiological point of view, above all during the first few days of a child’s life. Monitoring the patient will show when surgery is necessary, how they should be managed medically, and how to treat complications, should any arise.
Unfortunately, there are currently no measures that can be taken to prevent these anomalies.
The acceptance of these terms implies that you give your consent to the processing of your personal data for the provision of the services you request through this portal and, if applicable, to carry out the necessary procedures with the administrations or public entities involved in the processing. You may exercise the mentioned rights by writing to web@vallhebron.cat, clearly indicating in the subject line “Exercise of LOPD rights”. Responsible entity: Vall d’Hebron University Hospital (Catalan Institute of Health). Purpose: Subscription to the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus newsletter, where you will receive news, activities, and relevant information. Legal basis: Consent of the data subject. Data sharing: If applicable, with VHIR. No other data transfers are foreseen. No international transfer of personal data is foreseen. Rights: Access, rectification, deletion, and data portability, as well as restriction and objection to its processing. The user may revoke their consent at any time. Source: The data subject. Additional information: Additional information can be found at https://hospital.vallhebron.com/es/politica-de-proteccion-de-datos.