PRESS
RELEASE: SCHNEIDER CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTER OF ISRAEL
RARE
OPERATION SAVES THE LIFE OF A ONE-YEAR-OLD FROM GAZA
The
life of one-year-old Marwa Rafid Madhoun of Gaza
was saved following a rare operation performed at Schneider Children's. The
child suffered from a severely constricted airway. Dr. Schonfeld: "She
arrived when she was already blue, and it was clear that she had little time
to live." The rare surgery is conducted only at 6 centers in the world.
Marwa
Rafid Madhoun, a one-year-old infant from Gaza, was born with a
rare defect in her trachea: a diameter of 2 mm rather than 2 cm as is normal
in others her age. During
an operation performed at Schneider Children's Medical Center, the trachea was
restored. According to doctors, the child would not have survived without
surgery.
"The
infant arrived barely alive," said Dr. Tommy Schonfeld,
Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. "At the age of one year,
she weighed only 5 kgs. She refused to eat, suffered from pneumonia and
required intensive ventilation. The color of her skin was blue and it was
clear that she did not have much time to live."
Due
to her narrow trachea, Marwa utilized only a quarter of her lung
capacity. The rare defect from which she suffered is found in one in
200,000-250,000 births. According to Dr. Schonfeld, only 7 such operations
have been performed before in Israel, all at Schneider Children's. These types
of surgeries are conducted only in 5 other centers in the world and are
thought to have a high degree of mortality.
"The
medical staff was undecided whether we should attempt the operation
at all because her trachea was extremely narrow and it was by far the most
difficult case we had seen," said Dr. Schonfeld. In addition, doctors
found that the infant's left pulmonary artery exited from the right pulmonary
artery and pressed on the trachea.
During
the operation which was performed by Prof. Bernardo Vidne, Director
of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, surgeons rebuilt a new trachea with
tissue taken from the infant's own airway. In addition, the left pulmonary
artery was reconnected in the correct place.
"She
was sedated for 10 days and awoke a few days ago and is now
recovering well," related Dr. Schonfeld. "Her trachea is open and
she is hungrily eating her food and gaining weight." Schneider Children's
requested that the child remain hospitalized longer than usual because it is
unclear whether she will be able to arrive for check-ups in Israel following
her return to Gaza.
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