Baby Who Received Eight-Organ Transplant Coos in Mom's Arms

AP ^ | Mar.19, 2004

[nuconvert]

Baby Who Received Eight-Organ Transplant Coos in Mom's Arms

Mar 19, 2004

By Coralie Carlson/ Associated Press Writer

MIAMI (AP) - Wearing a pink dress, an Italian infant who received eight new organs in a single transplant operation cried and cooed Friday as her mother cradled her and said she looked forward to her daughter's future. "Her biggest feeling is happiness," said a doctor interpreting for Monica di Matteo, 39, mother of cherubic 7 1/2-month-old Alessia di Matteo.

The transplant surgery was done seven weeks ago but not announced until Thursday. Mother and baby appeared at a news conference Friday morning and di Matteo, of Genoa, Italy, said she was "hoping for a normal life" for Alessia.

The baby was born with congenital smooth muscle disorder, which prevented normal function of her stomach, intestines and kidneys. The condition is fatal if left untreated.

She underwent an operation at Jackson Memorial Hospital in which she received a new liver, stomach, pancreas, small intestine, large intestine, spleen and two kidneys. The organs were all taken from the same 7-month-old donor and transplanted together as a unit, said Dr. Andreas Tzakis, the lead surgeon.

Doctors said the surgery was the world's first eight-organ transplant, but other officials have said it is difficult to say if the hospital had set a record because other facilities record the number of organs differently, such as counting the stomach and intestine as one organ.

Tzakis said doctors will be cautious with Alessia during her first year after the surgery. She is expected to remain in Miami several more weeks for observation.

"We are not at ease at all about the baby's condition and we're going to be quite nervous for the first year," he said.

A transplant team from the University of Miami performed the 12-hour operation Jan. 31, when Alessia was 6 months old. The surgery was performed in a space about the size of three fists and the organs transplanted weighed less than 11 ounces, Tzakis said.

"Everything is so small and every little move matters and every little error can be fatal," Tzakis said. "Everything requires a lot of sophistication and a lot of care."

The transplant was a record for the hospital, which is one of the leading centers for "multi-visceral" operations, having done nearly 100 in the last 10 years, Tzakis said. More than 80 percent of patients survive the first year after the surgery, he said.

Before the transplants, Alessia was hospital-bound with multiple infections, Tzakis said. There was a problem with tissue rejection after the surgery, but doctors were able to get the complication under control.

Alessia now weighs about 13 pounds and is fed through a tube, but is out of the intensive care unit, Tzakis said. Doctors are monitoring her intestines, which are most likely to develop infections.

When she is released from the Miami hospital, she will go to her home in Genoa for the first time where she has a 7-year-old sister and 9-year-old brother. She will also need to learn how to eat, since she has only been fed through a tube.

But doctors say Alessia is expected to live a nearly normal life, although she would have to take medication to prevent her body from rejecting the organs.

"It even amazes us sometimes how well these babies and adults can do," Tzakis said.

[nuconvert]

Wow

[Pan_Yan]

Ping

[vavavah]

a nearly normal life
..And what might that be...

[Old Professer]

I wonder how the "donor" is doing?

[Pan_Yans Wife]

It's nice to learn of a miracle.

[vavavah]

"nearly normal"

[vavavah]

What is the time frame required to constitute a miricle?

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Several miracles have occured, already.

The baby is a miracle.

The baby was conceived... in a twinkling of an eye... so, that is a miracle.

The baby's birth is a miracle.

The doctors' expertise and knowledge is a miracle.

Medical technology when used for good is a miracle.

I could continue, but I think you get the point.

[scoopscandal]

Miami. I'm assuming this procedure took place in the US?

It's a good thing we don't have socialized healthcare.

Yet.

[Fifth Business]

I wonder how the "donor" is doing?

LOL! Was there anything left?

[nuconvert]

"Jackson Memorial Hospital " "A transplant team from the University of Miami performed the 12-hour operation "

[cpdiii]

But doctors say Alessia is expected to live a nearly normal life, although she would have to take medication to prevent her body from rejecting the organs.

[luckymom]

What are you saying?

[luckymom]

"I could continue, but I think you get the point."

Don't count on it.

[vavavah]

I could continue, but I think you get the point.

Guess Not... What is the time frame required to constitute a miricle? Certanlly not the twinkle of an eye...or a doctors skilled hands....
Lets face it time will tell on this one.Hence,
What is the time frame required to constitute a miricle?

[Pan_Yans Wife]

If you cannot recognize a miracle, when you see it or hear it, then you don't believe in miracles.

And that, is a shame.

[ladyjane]

Jackson Memorial? The name of the hospital sounds familiar. Is that where the three Muslim residents were headed when they pretended to be terrorists?

[vavavah]

Same place..its also the same place I, as a SAR crew member took all victims of off shore life threatening incedents as it was the same place miami dade and metro takes all of there uncatgorized victims......humm think there is a dollar factor here ?

[vavavah]

Sorry Dear......It is facinating and a techno/medical accomplishment but it is not a miracle.......and you can bet your rear end the Drs that pulled it off all got there fingers crossed hoping it "works good and last a long time" so they can call it PFM