This is one of those delicate but that stories when they are told they leave a message of hope. A Torino, at the City of Health, a girl suffering from a serious malformation was saved. The baby was born with the intestine instead of the lung. But thanks to a proper medical investigation, the malformation was discovered in time and the baby was operated on at birth. We tell you what happened. Because it represents a story of rebirth. And that bodes well.
Little girl saved from a rare malformation
It all began in the twentieth week of her mother's gestation. The woman, in fact, subjected to a control ultrasound, discovered that the fetus had a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. "A rare malformation - the hospital explains in a note - in which, due to a real "hole" in the diaphragm, the intestine can move into the chest and compromise the normal development of the lungs". A rare and serious form, therefore, which, however, was diagnosed in time.
The baby's mother was taken care of by the antenatal diagnostic team of the Sant'Anna hospital, directed by Dr. Andrea Sciarrone. Therefore, continuous monitoring of pregnancy is inevitable. The woman thus ended the time and the little girl was born in November 2019. But immediate intervention was necessary to save her. In fact, the newborn was admitted to the pediatric resuscitation unit of the Regina Margherita Infantile Hospital, directed by Dr. Giorgio Ivani. Subjected to a first surgery to correct the diaphragmatic hernia by the director of pediatric surgery Dr. Fabrizio Gennari and his team.
A complex clinical picture for the little girl
After the delicate surgery it seemed that the little girl was doing better. Instead, his condition has worsened. In fact, other problems appeared and the child remained in pediatric resuscitation until March 2020. Then the hospitalization in pediatric pneumology. But the respiratory situation was further complicated by liver disease "cholestatic disease which determines the abnormal enlargement of the liver, with a compressive effect on the chest - still tells the hospital -. Progressive hepatic insufficiency is established and clinical management becomes more and more complex, as there is no prospect of discharge. However, mum and dad never give up, also supported by their child's extraordinary will to live".
Insertion on the waiting list for transplantation
And it is precisely the hope and strength that this little patient has transmitted that gives doctors hope. And in fact the little girl on the waiting list for a liver transplant. TO However, Covid was worsening the clinical picture. In fact, the little girl, waiting for the transplant, contracted the infection. After passing this phase, the turning point has finally come. A compatible liver was found in November 2020. The donor was a person who had had Covid. The intervention performed to the hospital Molinette by Professor Renato Romagnoli and his team. Subsequent intensive care by the Anesthesia and Intensive Care team 2. Recovery begins and a long hospital stay first in pediatric resuscitation and then in the Gastroenterology department of Regina Margherita. But this step was necessary to allow the little girl to survive.
"In a few days the long awaited moment of discharge will finally arrive - explains the hospital - after a hospitalization that lasted 17 months from the day of birth, but which, thanks to the commitment of numerous doctors and nurses from many departments and services of the City of Health of Turin, has now allowed parents to be able to return home with their baby and start that normal life that they have so desired".
