A 17-month-old girl born with an intestine instead of a lung was saved by the doctors of the City of Health of Turin first with a diaphragmatic correction operation and then, when a liver disease developed during the hospitalization, with a liver transplantation.
The organ came from a donor who had just returned from Covid-19 and even the little girl, in recent months, has overcome a virus infection.
The little girl overcame the Covid infection in the months when operators were waiting for the suitable organ for transplantation.
The baby was born in November 2019 with a severe form of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (identified already during the twentieth week of gestation).
"This is - they explain to the City of Health of Turin - a rare malformation 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".
After giving birth, the little girl was taken to the pediatric resuscitation of the Regina Margherita Infantile Hospital, directed by Dr. Giorgio Ivani, and, after 2 days of intensive treatment, subjected to a delicate surgery to correct the diaphragmatic hernia by the director of pediatric surgery Dr. Fabrizio Gennari and his team.
In the following, however, other problems occurred (not related to the malformation) and the respiratory situation became complicated because the child developed a cholestatic liver disease that caused the abnormal enlargement of the liver, with a compressive effect on the chest, and a progressive liver failure.
A transplant was necessary, but the wait for the right organ lasted for months, during which the child also survived a Covid infection.
The operation was performed at the Molinette hospital by Professor Renato Romagnoli (director of the Molinette hospital liver transplant center) and his team.
The subsequent post-transplant intensive care was ensured by the Anesthesia and Intensive Care 2 team of Molinette (directed by Dr. Roberto Balagna) and "allowed the child's body - explain to the City of Health - to gradually recover, after all difficulties already overcome ".
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