New equipment helps doctors treat local unborn babies with heart conditions

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Doctors have a new way to detect heart and other conditions in Western Kentucky babies before they’re even born.

Norton Children’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine on the campus of Med Center Health in Bowling Green recently installed new state-of-the-art diagnostic and ultrasound equipment. The equipment is designed to identify complex anomalies in unborn babies through early detection so that a plan can be created for the best care during and after birth.

“Expert fetal diagnosis and treatment can help make a significant difference for a mother and her baby throughout pregnancy and delivery,” said W. Vance Cuthrell, M.D., with Norton Children’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine. “Being able to closely monitor the pregnancy and being armed with critical information allows the doctors and families to make the best decisions for care.”

Each year in the United States, some 40,000 children are born with congenital heart defects, which in Kentucky translates to over 500 children annually. Moreover, 45 deaths per year are attributed to heart defects in Kentucky. Early identification with advanced ultrasound technology may help some of these patients receive lifesaving treatment.

“This technology will allow for the earliest identification of conditions that may require immediate treatment after birth,” said Lucinda T. Wright, M.D., pediatric cardiologist with Norton Children’s Heart Institute, affiliated with the U of L School of Medicine, and Norton Children’s Outpatient Center – Bowling Green.

Community support to the Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation helped make purchasing the equipment possible. The Harold, Juanita, David, Dennis & Gary Koon Charitable Foundation provided a $100,000 gift and Dance Big Red, an annual fundraiser by Western Kentucky University students, provided additional support this past March.

Norton Children’s is Kentucky’s biggest provider of maternal-fetal medicine and pediatric heart services. Norton Children’s Hospital, in Louisville, has one of the nation’s largest Level IV neonatal intensive care units, and has regional clinics in Bowling Green, Paducah, Owensboro, Elizabethtown and Frankfort. Norton Children’s Outpatient Center – Bowling Green quickly has become one of the region’s fastest growing clinics for pediatric heart care.