The complex intervention carried out on the Child Jesus: the little one is fine now. He had a benign tumor called a “mesenchymal hamartoma”. The preparation lasted 4 weeks to grow the portion of the liver that would be saved
And tumor of 2 kgalready grown in the little body of only 8 kg of a ten month old babywas successfully removed by the doctors of the Hepato-Bilio-Pancreatic Surgery and of the liver and kidney transplants of the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital. The same hospital reports it in a press release which reports on the complex operation, which lasted 6 hours.
The rush to the hospital
It was the parents who noticed in the infant, compared with the twin brother, a swelling of the abdomen and a suspicious inappetence. At the emergency department, the ultrasound showed a large lesion with liquid content in the liver. The more complete evaluation led to the discovery of a benign liver neoplasm of more than 13cm in diameter which entirely occupied the right and central part of the organ. The tumor crushed and forced the other surrounding organs (stomach, pancreas, intestine, right kidney) into an abnormal displacement. The injury was recognized as amartoma mesenchimale.
L’amartoma mesenchyme
Mesenchymal hamartoma is a benign tumor which results from the abnormal growth of liver cells. The cells that make up hamartoma are normal, but grow in a disorganized way. Though rare overall, it is the second tumor in order of frequency that can develop in the liver in childhood, especially in the first two years of life.
A complex operation
The complexity of the operation also concerned its preparation: the team of Professor Marco Spada, head of Hepato-Bilio-Pancreatic Surgery and liver and kidney transplants at the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, which performed the operation, had estimated that following the removal of the tumor, the remaining portion of the liver would not be sufficient to function. So the doctors decided to increase (in a few weeks) the volume of the healthy liver with a special technique called “portal embolization”, which consists in blocking the blood flow towards the part of the liver occupied by the tumor and diverting it entirely towards the healthy part. After 4 weeks of the procedure, a CT scan with 3D reconstruction of the liver confirmed that the part of the organ was healthy it had doubledpassing from an estimated volume of 80 to 120 ml, and that there were therefore the right conditions to carry out the operation.
A normal life
The weight of the removed mass was finally almost 2 kg, compared to the 8.5 kg of the girl’s weight. The operation lasted over 6 hours and, once completed, the little girl was transferred to intensive care. The post-operative course presented no problems e the girl was discharged 9 days later. Today the little girl, who He just turned a year old, he’s fine, feeds without problems and has started to grow regularly. The “remaining” liver has already begun the regeneration process and its volume will return to normal, guaranteeing the little one a completely normal life.
March 31, 2023 (change March 31, 2023 | 19:44)
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