Premature baby girl thriving after multiple life-saving surgeries

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A baby girl who was born prematurely is thriving after having multiple life-saving surgeries, including one that took place days after her birth.

According to Right to Life UK, Amanda Sullivan, from Platteville, Colorado, was 20 weeks pregnant when doctors discovered that her unborn baby girl, Emilia, had a mismatch of her small intestines that would require surgery after birth.

“I didn’t induce labour; we wanted to keep Emilia in my belly as long as we could and had more frequent doctor visits to ensure Emilia wasn’t under any stress”, Ms Sullivan said.

However, a later scan showed that baby Emilia’s stomach was swollen as fluid was unable to pass through the small intestines, and shortly after, Ms Sullivan went into labour.

Baby Emilia was born at 33 weeks, weighing 4lb 15oz and was diagnosed with duodenal atresia, which is a rare congenital condition when parts of her small intestine were not connected properly, meaning she would require multiple surgeries. Her first surgery took place just three days after her birth and was seven hours long.

The paediatric doctor for baby Emilia, Dr Jonathan Hills-Dunlap, said that two issues were identified with baby Emilia.

“One was that the intestine wasn’t connected correctly, and the other was that her downstream intestine had formed an abnormal configuration that puts her at risk for life-threatening problems in the future as a result of that configuration”, he said. “My job as a surgeon is to connect the two blind ends of the intestine back together, but sometimes the upstream blind pouch is much bigger than the downstream blind end; we call it a mismatch”

“(Operating on) a baby with intestines that small is like reattaching two pieces of angel hair pasta”, he continued. “I used a surgical telescope to magnify the operation done through an incision over the belly, and she recovered beautifully from that operation”.

Since her first surgery, baby Emilia has had her second surgery, in which according to Dr Hills-Dunlap, she is now is thriving and growing appropriately.

“The fact that she’s now over seven months old, is taking all of her nutrition by mouth, and is growing and thriving otherwise is an amazing outcome for Emilia and her family”, he said.

“It’s humbling and gratifying to help babies, who are among the most vulnerable patients. Emilia was a very small baby, and only one day old when I met her, who literally couldn’t eat”, he continued. “To help patients like Emilia and allow them the opportunity to eat and grow and be happy and healthy is incredibly rewarding.”

“Emilia’s parents know we have a way to go with her, but she will tackle every challenge, and we are thrilled with how well she is doing”, he added. “She holds a special place in my heart”.

Sandra Parda of the Life Institute commented saying: “This is wonderful news and just shows how amazing modern medicine is in saving little babies like baby Emilia. We are delighted to hear how baby Emilia is thriving and send our wishes for her and her family as she continues to receiving this life-saving care.”