Senior paediatric cardiologist Quek Swee Chye, who practises at the Children's MedicalInstitute@National University Hospital, is responsible for Ern Wei's recovery.

Dr Quek hopes that Congenital Heart Defects Awareness Day, which is on Feb 14, will highlight the advances that have been made in the field of paediatric cardiology.

In Singapore, at least one in 100 babies is diagnosed with a major heart defect.

Congenital heart disease is said to be a more or less 'random' event. The causes may be genetic and environmental in nature but no specific ones have yet been identified.

'Thankfully, many of these conditions are treatable,' he added.

'Nowadays, we can detect problems early and surgical techniques, medication, these things have all improved.'

In fact, with foetal echocardiograms, doctors can detect gross heart defects even before birth.

Congenital heart disease is varied and ranges from complex defects that require multi-stage surgery to simple ones that may need no surgery but just regular check-ups.

The greatest challenge, DrQuek said, is for parents to understand what the defects are and whether the child will benefit from treatment.

'I think there are a lot of misconceptions about congenital heart disease. Being born with a heart defect is not the end of the world. There is a lot of hope for these kids,' he said.

This story was first published in the Mind Your Body supplement on Feb 13, 2008.