The family of an 11-year-old Glendale boy who underwent a rare form of heart surgery in May returned to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles this week to celebrate the success of his treatment with the La Cañada Flintridge cardiologist who headed up the procedure.
Brian Frounzian was born with two defective valves on the right side of his heart, a condition that made it difficult for his body to mix oxygen with blood and that required multiple surgeries from the time he was just 3 weeks old.
PHOTOS: Boy celebrates new heart valves following rare surgery
When replacement valves began to wear out last year, Brian suffered fatigue and struggled to keep up with other kids his age, his 17-year-old sister, Ani Frounzian, said.
But now Brian is back playing sports and taking karate lessons after receiving two new heart valves through a pioneering method that avoided open-heart surgery and was the first of its kind performed at Children’s Hospital.