When 3-year-old Zyllah’s face began swelling, her mother Maria Torres thought it might be due to allergies. However, the Galt toddler’s face would swell out of the blue in the middle of summer when outdoor pollen isn’t typically a problem.
When the puffiness and swelling worsened, narrowing her eyes and making it difficult to see, her pediatrician referred her to an ear, nose and throat specialist.
After a series of tests didn’t determine the cause of the swelling, she was referred to Frank Ing, chief of pediatric cardiology at UC Davis Children’s Hospital. Ing is a world-renowned pediatric interventional cardiologist.
“Dr. Ing took one look at Zyllah and said that she had superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome. Right off the bat he knew it and he knew what to do to treat it,” Torres said. “We were so relieved.”
