A young girl from England has become the first heart transplant patient in the UK and worldwide to have her original heart function again after the donor heart was removed.
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| The girl with an extraordinary heart – Hannah Clark (Photo: Telegraph) |
Hannah Clark, a girl from South Wales, underwent an unusual heart transplant surgery 10 years ago, where the donor heart was placed alongside her original heart. Recently, however, she experienced complications as her body reacted poorly to the medication meant to prevent rejection of the new heart. As a result, doctors decided to remove the transplanted heart.
“We found that her original heart is now functioning normally,” said a spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London. “So we decided to remove the transplanted heart, reconnect her old heart, and it has been functioning normally. She is now very healthy.”
He added, “We would be very surprised if anyone finds a second case. This is probably the first case in the world.”
Egyptian doctor Magdi Yacoub, who performed the surgery for Clark 10 years ago, also assisted in the procedure on February 20. He expressed his happiness that the girl’s heart has recovered well.
“Her heart has almost fully recovered. It is now a normal heart. What a happy ending,” he stated.
Medical experts consider this surgery to be an important development in treating individuals with cardiomyopathy, a condition where the heart becomes swollen and functions poorly.
“Surgeons used to think that if a heart was functioning poorly due to inflammation, it could recover on its own if given rest. This is exactly such a case. The transplanted heart allowed the patient’s heart to rest,” said Professor Peter Weissberg at the British Heart Foundation.
He noted that Clark’s current issue could be addressed by attaching a temporary device that could be removed after a few months, a solution that did not exist 10 years ago.
M.T.
