This 14-year-old girl needed surgery meant for adults. A Richland doctor helped make it happen

A 14-year-old girl has a new lease on life thanks to an innovative heart procedure — and a Tri-Cities doctor helped make it happen.

Shanae Ceja of Toppenish underwent the “Ozaki” procedure last fall at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

She was the first-ever Seattle Children’s patient to have it — and also the first pediatric patient in the Northwest.

The Ozaki procedure, which involves using some of the patient’s own heart tissue to reconstruct the aortic valve, was pioneered by Dr. Shigeyuki Ozaki in Tokyo.

It’s mostly is done on adults.

Dr. Salaam Sallaam, a pediatric cardiologist with the Seattle Children’s clinic in Richland, helped with Shanae’s care.

“She’s doing great, feeling great,” he recently told the Herald.

Shanae seconded that. “I feel more energized and I feel capable of doing more things,” she told the Herald.

Shanae was in elementary school when a doctor first heard something off in her heart during an annual check up, a Seattle Children’s post said.

He referred her to a cardiologist, who said two of her heart’s valves were leaking and she’d likely need surgery one day.

The active, sports-loving kid was told to take it easy, which was tough. But her health was OK.

Later, Shanae started losing weight. She ran a high fever that wouldn’t break.

“We thought it may be related to her heart issues, but we didn’t have a clear answer,” said her mother, Marisela Barragan, in the Seattle Children’s post. “It seemed like we took her to every hospital in our area,” but no answers came.

Finally, the family was referred to Dr. Sallaam of the Seattle Children’s clinic in the Tri-Cities.

He zeroed in on the heart valves and found fluid around her heart.

Shanae was admitted to a local hospital, then flown to Seattle. She had a condition called rheumatic aortic insufficiency.

Doctors prepared surgery — and the Ozaki procedure was the best option.

Dr. Jonathan Chen, chief of pediatric cardiovascular surgery at Seattle Children’s, performed it last October.

“’I thought, ‘what kind of valve would be the most durable and one that she wouldn’t have to take anti-coagulants for the rest of her life?’” Chen said in the Seattle Children’s post. “That’s when I knew Shanae could be the right candidate for the Ozaki procedure.”

He praised the teen and her family.

“The thing I always marvel at with families like Shanae and her mom is their remarkable sense of courage,” he said in the post. “It takes a lot of courage to say ‘yes’ to being the first person to undergo a surgical procedure and ‘I trust you’ with your decision to do this.”

Dr. Sallaam of the Richland clinic said he’s glad she’s doing well.

He and his colleagues treat patients from around the region. Having the clinic in town is an invaluable resource, he said.

“It makes it easier for referring providers, knowing we’re available here,” he said. “I believe it’s a huge benefit.”

Shanae is back home with her family.

She’ll be a freshman at Toppenish High in the fall, and she’s wasted no time taking advantage of her healthier heart.

She already has logged practice sessions with the high school volleyball team.

“It feels really good” to be active once again, she said.

And being an Ozaki pioneer feels pretty good, too.

“Now that I look back at it, it’s quite amazing. It still hasn’t hit me that I had the surgery,” she told the Herald. “For me, it’s not every day that you see someone who has an open heart surgery. I’m still shocked that I’m one of them.”

This story was originally published July 25, 2018 at 7:29 PM.