As tensions in her country escalate, ten-year-old Vera arrived in Israel from Ukraine to undergo life-saving treatment and the first of its kind in such a small girl, at Sheba Hospital.
Vera underwent a valve transplant in a catheter, to repair a defect with which she was born.
Catheter valve replacement is not uncommon, but in Vera's case it is a 10-year-old girl who weighs only 20 kg and is the smallest to have undergone this procedure in Sheba.
Vera was born with a heart defect that included a large hole in the septum between the ventricles of the heart and narrowing at the right outlet of the heart.
The hole in the septum was surgically repaired, but during the operation its pulmonary valve was damaged.
"I was pregnant with twins. Without any prior preparation, after my son was born healthy, my daughter went out into the world and immediately began to turn blue," says Natalia (42), Vera's mother who accompanied her to treatment in Israel.
"The medical staff diagnosed that there was a heart problem. When my daughter was four months old, she underwent open heart surgery that helped her recover and develop like a normal girl her age. When she weighs only 20 kg.
I was looking all over the world for a solution to her complex situation.
"Finally, I came to Safra Children's Hospital through a recommendation from a family in Kiev, who underwent a similar procedure in Safra for a heart valve in the cardio-surgical system."
Dr. Sharon Borik, a senior pediatric cardiologist, is the one who led the unique treatment: “What was special about this case was the low body weight.
This is the smallest girl we have ever cared for in the country.
This means that we can now give the care to the smaller and smaller children. "
To sum up the treatment, the mother said that "the operation went well, the girl is not as pale as she used to be, she eats well and sleeps well."
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