Tiny Heart, Big Innovation: How Virtual Reality Tech Created a Christmas Miracle

After a routine pregnancy and normal birth, Veronica Even was anxious to go home with two-day-old Theodore to celebrate Christmas as a family of five. Instead, she watched and prayed for a Christmas miracle as Theodore was loaded in a helicopter and flown to Manning Family Children’s.  

“Every anatomy scan had been clear,” Veronica explained. “We had no reason to think Theodore was anything but perfectly healthy. I did notice that he seemed to be breathing fast, so a nurse checked his oxygen levels. They were normal, so we thought everything was fine.”  

Just prior to discharge, a pediatrician came by for a final check. She detected a heart murmur and ordered an echocardiogram, or ultrasound of Theodore’s heart. With every minute Theodore was away for the imaging procedure, Veronica’s worries grew.  

“Finally, the nurse came back in and asked me to sit down,” Veronica recalled. “I immediately started crying before she could even start explaining what was wrong with Theodore’s heart.”  

After arriving at Manning Family Children’s, Theodore was diagnosed with two critical congenital heart defects – a coarctation of the aorta, or narrowing of the aorta, and a ventricular septal defect, or VSD, which is a hole in the wall that separates the left and right ventricles.  

The Right Patient at The Right Time 

Prior to Theodore’s arrival at Manning Family Children’s, Ernesto Mejia, MD, pediatric interventional cardiologist, had been working with Farshad Anvari, MD, pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, to implement Elucis, a new technology that combines various forms of imaging, such as ultrasounds and CT scans, to create 3D models that can be viewed in virtual reality.  

“Think of it like this,” explained Dr. Mejia. “Two-dimensional images are like the blueprints of a house. You get an idea of the layout, but it’s flat. That’s what it’s like looking at an ultrasound of the heart. CT scans also produce flat images, but they can be combined to create 3D models. That’s like going from the blueprint to walking around the outside of the house – you can see a little bit through the windows, but you still have to use your imagination to walk from room to room. Virtual reality takes it a step further.  It allows us to literally step into a tiny heart and move around, just like walking through the front door and taking a tour of the home.”  

Dr. Mejia has been at the forefront of this groundbreaking technology since 2022, first gaining expertise during his training in Colorado before introducing it to the Manning Family Children’s pediatric cardiology team in 2024. Since then, he and Dr. Anvari have been diligently preparing for their first surgical case, meticulously evaluating each potential candidate to ensure the best possible outcome. 

“We needed a case that could be successfully treated without the technology if needed, but could also benefit from using the technology,” explained Dr. Anvari. “So, it had to be straightforward and a bit complex at the same time. What interested me in Theodore’s case was that his diagnosis became more severe with each imaging procedure. The initial ultrasound showed a simple narrowing of the aorta. The CT scan, however, revealed his aorta was so narrowed that blood flow was nearly interrupted. That discovery alone changed my entire surgical approach. Virtual reality helped me even further — I was able to see that Theodore’s VSD was larger than I had initially thought. Without the technology, that would have been an unexpected finding in the operating room.”  

Dr. Anvari showed the 3D model of Theodore’s heart to Veronica and her husband Joshua and walked them through the defects and his plan for fixing them. The following day was spent preparing Theodore for open-heart surgery.  

How Virtual Reality Could Transform Care 

“Virtual reality technology absolutely had a positive impact on Theodore’s care,” Dr. Anvari said. “Because I knew exactly what to expect and was fully prepared, his surgery was at least two hours shorter than it could have been. While that may not seem like much, that’s two more hours he would have remained on the heart-lung bypass machine. That, in turn, would have meant more days under sedation to allow his body to recover, plus additional weeks in the hospital. It could have also led to delays in achieving developmental milestones.”  

Instead, Theodore went home on December 19, exactly one week after surgery and two weeks after being born. His surgery marked the first use of this type of virtual reality technology in the state of Louisiana, and it’s not just for tiny hearts. Manning Family Children’s is currently exploring the use of this technology in other specialties, such as neurology and orthopedics.  

“Theodore’s case is the tip of the iceberg,” Dr. Mejia said. “While severe, his defects are among the most commonly treated, so imagine how this can positively impact more complex cases. All around, there is potential for tremendous benefits to millions of patients, both pediatric and adult. Patients go home faster, feel better sooner, and incur fewer expenses.”  

“For the last two weeks, I had been thinking about Christmas and wishing we could spend Theodore’s first Christmas at home with his brother and sister,” Veronica said. “I kept reminding myself that Theodore was being well cared for so that we could have many more Christmases together as a family, and that was all that mattered. So, when they said he was ready to go home, I almost didn’t believe them! I’m just so grateful to the Manning Family Children’s team for their compassion, expertise and commitment to being innovative and trying new things. How everything came together so that I could take my healthy baby boy home truly was our Christmas miracle.”   

From innovative technology to compassionate support, the Heart Center at Manning Family Children’s is dedicated to helping children heal while giving their families hope. Click here to learn more about our pediatric cardiology services and how we’re providing the most advanced care.