{"id":27755,"date":"2021-12-26T20:49:43","date_gmt":"2021-12-26T20:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cmshub.wpengine.com\/?p=364730"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:14:06","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:14:06","slug":"boy-born-with-heart-defect-gets-surgery-to-help-it-triple-in-size-like-the-grinch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/boy-born-with-heart-defect-gets-surgery-to-help-it-triple-in-size-like-the-grinch\/","title":{"rendered":"Boy Born With Heart Defect Gets Surgery To Help It Triple In Size, Like The Grinch"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Nine-year-old Kingston Murriel\u2019s favorite Christmas character is the Grinch, but for a very different reason than other kids.<\/span><\/p>\n

Houston doctors have helped Kingston\u2019s heart grow three times the size, just like the Grinch.<\/span><\/p>\n

The boy, from Brandon, Mississippi, was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a defect in which a small and weakened left ventricle puts too much pressure on the right ventricle.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: YouTube\/Good Morning America<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This defect, which affects one in 100 children in the world each year, can result in heart failure and a shortened life expectancy. Some even receive a full heart transplant, but Houston doctors believed they could help Kington\u2019s heart without a transplant.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Jorge Salazar at Children\u2019s Memorial Herman Hospital performed a ventricular recruiting procedure when Kingston was just two days old. The procedure increased blood flow to his heart and allowed it to eventually triple in size. Although the surgery was a success, the procedure was risky and the journey has not been easy. But Kingston\u2019s mom, Elizabeth Foster, stood her ground and trusted in Dr. Salazar\u2019s work.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: YouTube\/Good Morning America<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kingston received several more surgeries over the years, and Foster used the Grinch\u2019s story to help him understand and feel better about what he was going through.<\/span><\/p>\n

She explained that his heart would triple in size, just like the Grinch. Knowing that he had this in common with the Grinch, he fell in love with the character and would wear Grinch costumes and watch the movies constantly.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: YouTube\/Good Morning America<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last month, Dr. Salazar performed Kingston\u2019s fifth and final procedure on his heart to help it reach its normal size and function. The procedure was a complex biventricular repair, which will help Kingston avoid a heart transplant and live a normal life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kingston was released from the hospital to go home just in time for Christmas, and plans on throwing a Grinch-themed party to celebrate.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: YouTube\/Good Morning America<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Salazar hopes Kingston\u2019s successful story will spread awareness on these types of procedures and inform people that it\u2019s possible. \u201cThe steps aren\u2019t complicated,\u201d he told<\/a> Houston Chronicle. \u201cIt\u2019s just innovative and a different way of thinking.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kingston\u2019s case has since helped doctors develop a procedure that reduces the number of surgeries to one, which could help families who have children with similar heart defects save hundreds of thousands of dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n