Doctors achieved a Taiwan first with a lung transplant on an 11-year-old girl, National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Surgeons in October completed a 15-hour operation to replace the child’s damaged lungs with donations from her father’s lower right lung and the lower left lung of her mother, said Hsu Hsao-hsun (徐紹勛), head of the hospital’s thoracic surgery unit.
The girl, surnamed Liao (廖), was transferred to NTUH from another hospital in July last year after a cellulitis infection developed into sepsis, which required her to be put on life support, Hsu said.
Photo copied by Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
Liao was put on a transplant waiting list, but no suitable lungs were found due to a chronic shortage of registered organ donors, he said, adding that living donations from family members comprise the vast majority of the nation’s liver and kidney transplants.
The parents consented to each donate lung portions when doctors presented them with the option, he said.
In 2005, NTUH was certified to perform live lung transplants by what was at the time the department of health, he said.
The hospital has carefully maintained the capability to carry out the procedure, Hsu said.
Regulations stipulate that living donations of lungs must come from two blood relatives within five degrees of separation from the recipient, while there are additional medical requirements linked to lung health, age and body size, he said.
NTUH did not make the decision to proceed with the transplant lightly, as the chances of success for the operation were assessed at no more than 50 percent by Kyoto University Hospital, the world’s leading authority on the procedure, Hsu said.
The operation presented a significant challenge, as the lung tissue had to be removed from two donors and transplanted into the patient, with each step carrying a risk of death, he said.
Four surgical teams rehearsed the operation in 16 planning sessions before conducting the procedure, he said.
Children who get lung transplants have a 10-year survival rate of 80 percent and Liao’s prognosis is likely better because transplants from blood relatives carry a smaller risk of rejection, he said.
The girl is in physical therapy to ensure the transplants remain healthy and grow with her, he added.
Liao’s father said it was trying to see their child on the verge of death.
He jumped at the chance to save his daughter’s life, he said.
The sole concern he had with the procedure was his high blood-sugar levels, which could have made his lung tissue unsuitable for transplantation, the father added.
Additional reporting by CNA
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS