She expected to give birth to a stillborn child, and she becomes the mother of the youngest cardiac recipient in the United States. Little Oliver’s mother was prepared for the worst: by the twentieth week of pregnancy, doctors diagnosed the fetus with dilated cardiomyopathy. Her heart was very weak and her left ventricle was seven times larger than that of a fetus of the same age, the pediatric cardiac surgeon in charge of monitoring this pregnancy had planned to induce delivery at 36 weeks.
But, surprise, the baby’s mother lost water earlier than expected, seven weeks before term. “When I realized I was going to give birth at 33 weeks, we were prepared for a stillborn baby,” she says.
Something miraculous
The medical team at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in the southern United States operated on the extremely premature baby six days after birth. A 10-hour procedure, performed through an incision going from her stomach to her chest. A success.
A month later, Oliver’s health is stable and his body does not appear to be rejecting the transplant. Still hospitalized and placed under surveillance because his lungs are weak, he currently weighs 2.8 kg.
Parents are eagerly waiting to bring their babies home. “I hope we can tell them very quickly that Oliver is out of danger, something miraculous has happened with this child,” says surgeon Christopher Lindblade to the American daily The Arizona Republic, Quoted by Le Figaro.