Russian clinic to save girl's arm

Doctors will use chlorophyll to treat the condition

A student suffering from a rare illness has been offered free treatment by a Russian clinic.

Louise Longman, 19, from Nottingham has von Hipel-Lindau syndrome (VHL) which produces abnormal blood cells vessels.

She was told by doctors in the UK the only option is to amputate her arm.

A Moscow clinic has offered to treat her with a treatment which involves injecting chlorophyll into her limb.

Abnormal vessels

A doctor has already visited Louise in the UK to test her for her suitability.

Within the next few weeks she will be heading to Moscow in an attempt to save her arm.

I have been offered this chance and I just want to take it as soon as possible Louise Longman

She is a first-year student studying Biomedical Science at the University of the West of England in Bristol.

She was previously told the only way to prevent the possibly cancerous cells from spreading to the rest of her arm was to have her left arm removed.

Ms Longman said: "Currently the area of abnormal blood vessels is growing and I am in pain every day.

"It is getting worse and I had been told it was untreatable.

"Now I have been offered this chance and I just want to take it as soon as possible."

Louise was diagnosed with VHL, a genetic condition which affects one in every 32,000 people, when she was six.

At the age of nine she had an operation on her arm to remove large areas of abnormal blood vessels.

PDT therapy

The Russian doctors believe they can save the arm using an advanced treatment known as photo-dynamic therapy (PDT).

PDT works by injecting the natural light-sensitive chemical chlorophyll and applying light to the affected area.

Doctors hope the chlorophyll will hunt out the abnormal cells in Ms Longman's arm and attack them.