MADRID, Spain – Doctors in Spain have carried out a six-organ transplant on an 18-month-old girl who was born with cancer.
She was born with an abdominal cancer and suffered multiple organ problems after a key artery was damaged in surgery aimed at removing the tumor.
La Paz Hospital in Madrid says the baby, named Cristina, was sent home with her parents after the March 25th operation, which was made public yesterday.
Cristina was the fourth to undergo a multi-organ transplant at the hospital, but the first to recover enough to go home.
The other three patients survived the surgery but ultimately developed infections that killed them.
In an eleven-hour operation, doctors replaced her liver, pancreas, small intestine, large intestine, stomach and spleen.
The big danger is infection and the risk of organ rejection, and Christina will undergo treatment for years.
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