Sin Chhon embraces her daughter Davik Teng after Monday's open-heart surgery. (Jeff Gritchen / Staff Photographer)By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
03/24/2008
» MULTIMEDIA FROM CAMBODIA
Davik's Heart: A reporter and photographer in Cambodia blog Davik's story
Davik Teng, the Cambodian girl brought to the United States for life-altering heart surgery, underwent what her cardiologist called a "perfect" procedure Monday and was awake and talking to her mom by the late morning.
"It went better than even we thought," cardiologist Dr. Mark Sklansky of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles told Davik's mother, Sin Chhon, after the 9-year-old emerged from a smooth hourlong operation. "She's a very strong girl, and she's going to do very well."
After hearing the news, Chhon broke into tears and hugged her companions, Peter Chhun and Chantha Bob, the two Long Beach men responsible for bringing Davik to the United States.
Surgery started about 8:15 a.m. and was expected to last two to three hours. But at 9:15 a.m., Dr. Vaughn Starnes, the cardiac surgeon, called the procedure a success.
A world-renowned surgeon, Starnes repaired a quarter-size hole in one of the chambers in Davik's heart, known as a ventricular septal defect, by sewing a Dacron patch to cover the opening.
"What we did is routine," Starnes said.
Although the operation is common in the United States and, in Davik's case, would normally have been performed during her first year, Chhon tried for years to get help for her child in Cambodia and was consistently rebuffed.
Bob, a Long Beach waiter, first encountered Davik several years ago while delivering rice and food to her small village outside of Battambang in a western province of the country.
Chhun, founder of Long Beach-based Hearts Without Boundaries, organized and funded the effort to bring Davik to the United States and Childrens Hospital donated the cardiology team and facilities.
Sklansky estimated Davik could be out of the hospital by the weekend.
By 11:30 a.m., Davik was awake, asking for water and to see Chhun, whom she affectionately calls her "great-uncle."
"It feels like a dream," Chhun said after the surgery. "Today it's real. I don't know what to say. I'm so happy. I don't have the words."
"It went better than even we thought," cardiologist Dr. Mark Sklansky of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles told Davik's mother, Sin Chhon, after the 9-year-old emerged from a smooth hourlong operation. "She's a very strong girl, and she's going to do very well."
After hearing the news, Chhon broke into tears and hugged her companions, Peter Chhun and Chantha Bob, the two Long Beach men responsible for bringing Davik to the United States.
Surgery started about 8:15 a.m. and was expected to last two to three hours. But at 9:15 a.m., Dr. Vaughn Starnes, the cardiac surgeon, called the procedure a success.
A world-renowned surgeon, Starnes repaired a quarter-size hole in one of the chambers in Davik's heart, known as a ventricular septal defect, by sewing a Dacron patch to cover the opening.
"What we did is routine," Starnes said.
Although the operation is common in the United States and, in Davik's case, would normally have been performed during her first year, Chhon tried for years to get help for her child in Cambodia and was consistently rebuffed.
Bob, a Long Beach waiter, first encountered Davik several years ago while delivering rice and food to her small village outside of Battambang in a western province of the country.
Chhun, founder of Long Beach-based Hearts Without Boundaries, organized and funded the effort to bring Davik to the United States and Childrens Hospital donated the cardiology team and facilities.
Sklansky estimated Davik could be out of the hospital by the weekend.
By 11:30 a.m., Davik was awake, asking for water and to see Chhun, whom she affectionately calls her "great-uncle."
"It feels like a dream," Chhun said after the surgery. "Today it's real. I don't know what to say. I'm so happy. I don't have the words."
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