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Saturday, January 2, 1999 Published at 17:11 GMT
Health Transplant baby makes history ![]() Baby Cameron: Heading home after rare operation A five-week-old baby has made medical history by becoming the youngest patient in the UK to have a rare double heart valve transplant.
The baby received one heart valve from Belgium after a three-week search but his surgeon had to wait for another to become available. Two weeks before Christmas, a second donor was found in a girl aged seven who died in London. 30% chance of life Cameron, from Grimsby, was born with a rare condition that meant one of his heart valves was missing and the other was not functioning. Doctors gave him just a 30% chance of survival but he now weighs 7lb and his parents are preparing to take him home from Leeds General Infirmary. Surgeon Kevin Watterson, who headed both medical teams in the five-hour operations, said: "Cameron was dying, there was no question. To save his life the aortic valve also had to be replaced." 'Miracle baby' A spokeswoman for the hospital said on Saturday that Cameron remained in a satisfactory condition and was expected to go home soon. His mother Lisa, 26, said: "He is our miracle baby and I have kissed Kevin after each operation." Her husband Chris, 20, a plumber, and the couple's other children Kayleigh, aged seven, and Benjamin, 18 months, are looking forward to the new baby's homecoming. |
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