Mongolian kids recovering from heart surgery

By Emily Richmond

Wednesday, June 13, 2001 | 10:37 a.m.

Two children from Mongolia who came to Las Vegas for life-saving heart surgery are recovering in the Intensive Care Unit at Sunrise Children's Hospital, their doctor said.

Usukhbayar Baasandorj, 6, underwent surgery Friday and could be discharged as early as next week. Naranjargal Oyun-Erdene, 4, survived high-risk surgery Sunday to repair complicated defects involving both her heart and veins that connect the organ to her lungs. The children, their mothers and a translator arrived in Las Vegas June 5 thanks to Samaritan's Purse, a nonprofit foundation that sponsored the trip.

Dr. William Evans, the childrens' cardiologist at Sunrise, said he expected both children to make full recoveries, although the little girl's condition is more serious. During diagnostic testing at Sunrise, physicians discovered problems with both Baasandorj and Oyun-Erdene that hadn't been diagnosed by the doctors in Mongolia, Evans said.

Oyun-Erdene's case was so complicated that Evans said he initially told her mother the little girl might not even be a candidate for surgery. Although it was a high-risk procedure, Oyun-Erdene would certainly die without it, Evans said.

Oyun-Erdene is sedated and breathing with the help of a respirator so that doctors can better control her recovery, Evans said. Baasandorj could be released as early as next week, he said.

Situated between Russia and China, Mongolia has just one pediatric cardiologist for the entire country of more than 2.2 million people. Pediatric procedures common at most hospitals in the United States are rare in Mongolia, with ill children competing for only one specialist's time.

The children's mothers are spending most of their days at the intensive care unit, and their nights at the Las Vegas home of Dale and Donna Lawrence. The couple heard about Samaritan's Purse through their church and agreed to play host to the children, their mothers and the translator for the weeks they'll be in town for the surgery and recovery period.

It's been both exciting and exhausting to play host to visitors from 9,000 miles away, Donna Lawrence said, but well worth the work.

"It was really gratifying to see the smiles on the mothers' faces when they were told their kids were going to be OK," Donna Lawrence said.

Samaritan's Purse was founded in 1970 and focuses on areas that have few other sources of aid. The current president is Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham.

The nonprofit organization launched its Children's Heart Project in 1997 after learning that children in war-torn Bosnia couldn't be treated because the hospitals had been destroyed.

This is the first time the group has brought children to Las Vegas for treatment, and Sunrise agreed to donate some of its services.

"We're just pleased we could help the children," said Sunrise spokeswoman Ann Lynch.

Dr. Robert Wiencek, a pediatric cardiovascular surgeon at Sunrise, operated on the children and internist Dr. James Swift also provided care.