Page 6 - MidWeek - Feb 23, 2022

6 MIDWEEK FEBRUARY 23, 2022
As a Stanford Chil- dren’s Health pedi- atric cardiothoracic surgeon at Kapi‘olani Med- ical Center for Women & Children, Dr. Louis Capecci performs corrective surgery on infants and children born with congenital heart defects. He is the first full-time pediat- ric heart surgeon to practice at Kapi‘olani.
LOUIS CAPECCI, MD, pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children Interviewed by Don Robbins
Keeping Hearts Healthy In Hawai‘i
for local keiki when it opens later this year. The new center will allow more Hawai‘i fam- ilies to seek lifesaving heart surgery and treatment here at home.
holes between the chambers of the heart, malformations of the major blood vessels and poorly functioning heart valves.
What inspired you to pursue a medical degree and your specialty?
I was born with a congenital heart defect that required sever- al open-heart surgeries before my first birthday. It is because of my team of heart surgeons and doctors that I am here to- day. So, from a young age, I was acutely aware and in awe of the impact these doctors had, and I knew I wanted a career in the medical field. When my daughter was born, there were some concerns with her heart, and although she fortunately did not need surgery, it made me realize that with my med- ical history and background, I could do the greatest good as a congenital heart surgeon.
gratifying to see the relief in the eyes of the parents when we are able to fix their child’s heart. I am constantly and truly hum- bled by my patients, patients’ families and their faith in me.
What should readers know about your training?
After medical school, I completed nine years of sur- gical training. I was fortunate enough to learn from and train under some of the top surgeons in the pediatric cardiothorac- ic field at Penn State and at Stanford School of Medicine — some of whom trained under the very surgeon that operated on my heart when I was born. The opportunity to start a full-time comprehensive heart program for the people of Hawai‘i is incredibly excit- ing. It is wonderful to be able to fully treat patients close to their home and not have to fly them and their families to the mainland or wait lengths of time before they’re able to get treatment.
Congenital heart defects are different than heart problems seen in the general adult pop- ulation. They usually develop when a baby is in utero and cannot be treated with medi- cine alone due to their struc- tural nature.
Dr. Louis Capecci works at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children. PHOTOS COURTESY HAWAI‘I PACIFIC HEALTH
Maintaining a healthy, bal- anced diet and an active life- style are always important. Another important measure you can take to maintain your child’s heart health is to visit your primary care physician regularly, especially if your child gets sick.
“I work closely with pedi- atric cardiologists, anesthesi- ologists, neonatologists and intensive care unit physicians to provide our young patients with the best care possible be- fore, during and after surgery,” Dr. Capecci explains.
What treatments are your patients typically seeking?
In other cases, patients might start displaying symptoms of a heart defect after birth. We sometimes even see adults with cardiovascular symptoms such as fatigue, decreased exercise tolerance, shortness of breath, swelling in lower extremities, etc., and determine that they have been unknowingly liv- ing with a heart defect that requires surgical correction. Some defects I treat include
If you are pregnant, be vigi- lant about your prenatal care. If you have already received heart surgery, yearly follow-ups with your cardiologist are cru- cial. Seeing a dentist regularly (twice a year) and establishing healthy dental hygiene habits with young children are also extremely important — there are links between poor dental health and heart disease.
He brings his experience to Kapi‘olani’s Pediatric Heart Center, which will be the first
I love being able to save lives and drastically improve someone’s quality of life. Al- though some of the surgeries are quite invasive and can be long and risky, it is always so
“I am happy to be here in Hawai‘i and am certainly feel- ing the welcoming aloha spirit from all the doctors and staff at Kapi‘olani Medical Center as well as the island population itself. I feel like the luckiest doctor in the world to be work- ing here in paradise with such wonderful people,” he adds.
February is American Heart Month. What tips do you have for keeping hearts healthy, especially when it comes to children?
In this article, Dr. Capecci shares more about his back- ground, his career and offers heart-health advice.
after birth or will need close follow-up care and possible surgery in the future.
My patients all require some level of surgical intervention in order to live a normal, healthy life. Usually, we can determine through pre-natal screening that a baby in-utero has a heart defect and whether they will require surgery immediately
What do you love most about your career?
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