Pulmonary Artery Reconstruction Patient Stories

Santana Renchie takes on life as if she knows—at the tender age of 2—that she’s lucky to be alive. She’s sassy, full of joy, and determined to not miss a single moment of fun. “There’s nothing stopping her. She’s relentless. If she wants something, she just goes for it,” says her dad, Sebron. That wasn’t the case until last fall, when she received a lifesaving, novel surgical procedure at Stanford Children’s Health, one that has never been performed elsewhere in the world. The nearly 16-hour operation took a huge multidisciplinary team of heart experts to pull off, but the result likely means a brighter, better future for Santana.

Learn more about Santana and the PAR Program >

Nicholas was born without a pulmonary artery, the vessel that carries blood from the heart to the lungs for oxygenation. Lifelong care from the Pulmonary Artery Reconstruction (PAR) program at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford has helped Nicholas achieve more than anyone might ever have imagined. Nicholas, now 13, recently ran the fastest mile in his class and was a first pick for the flag football team at his school in South Carolina, where he was born.

Learn more about Nicholas and the PAR Program >

When Kelly and Malcolm learned that their baby Carter was born with a rare heart condition they searched to find the best course of treatment for their son. After a nationwide search they found the Pulmonary Artery Reconstruction (PAR) program at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford.

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Baby Jackson Lane’s heart problems were “about as dramatic as you can get.” Famed surgeon—Dr. Frank Hanley, and his team stepped in to save Jackson’s life performing the unifocalization surgery, a procedure pioneered by Dr. Hanley, to treat Jackson’s Tetralogy of Fallot.

Learn more about Jackson and the PAR Program >