A 13-year-old has become the first in world history to successfully undergo liver surgery for Wild Syndrome, a condition so rare it’s only been documented 21 times.
After what seemed like an eternity in the hospital for Kai Xue and her mother Ning Chen—during which they traveled all over the UK and China looking for help—they finally found a possible solution at Royal Stoke University Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent, England.
“Kai was born with an abnormal lymphatic system, and her left arm was very swollen,” Ning Chen told Stoke-on-Trent Live. “Throughout her childhood we were under the care of a number of different hospitals to try to find out what the matter was, but nobody knew the cause.”
The cause was a truly tiny hole in her liver that would result in lymphatic fluid leaking into her abdomen, applying undue pressure on her internal organs and causing swelling there and in other parts of the body.
Xue’s attending physician at Royal Stoke was Dr. Mona Mossad, a nationally recognized expert in lymphatic interventions, whose first procedure was dilating Kai’s thoracic duct to improve lymphatic drainage which had never been done on a child before.
YOU MAY LIKE: After Taking Vitamin B2 Baby Becomes Solitary Case of Recovery from Rare Genetic Disease
After failing to improve Xue’s condition, Dr. Mossad sought to identify the source of the leak in the lymphatic system and found it was coming from a hole one-tenth of a millimeter on her liver.
Located on the left lobe, Dr. Mossad’s surgery team went to work repairing the hole using a set of specialized, tiny needles filled with surgical adhesive. During the surgery, they were forced to drain an astonishing 7 gallons of lymphatic fluid from a small 13-year-old.
After 5 weeks recovery, Kai Xue was given a clean bill of health.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Texas Mother–Daughter Duo Given Prestigious Award from 3 Past Presidents for Easing Others’ Pain From Rare Disease
“We are all over the moon for Kai, who is the first child to undergo this treatment anywhere in the world,” said Dr. Yvonne Slater, a consultant pediatric gastroenterologist who was part of Xue’s overall care team.
SHARE Kai’s Good Fortune With Your Friends You Need A Pick-Me-Up…