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A 15-month-old girl is recovering after undergoing a groundbreaking heart-lung transplant surgery.
Parents Krystina Lopez and Jesus Neira had been told daughter Izabella would likely die before her first birthday.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports the child was born with a rare disease that was hardening the tissue in her lungs. She was considered too young for a transplant and unlikely to find a suitable infant donor.
But specialists at Shands at the University of Florida decided to take Izabella on as their youngest heart-lung transplant candidate ever.
Izabella had to hang on for nine months attached to a ventilator before a match was found. She underwent surgery on Jan. 27.
Doctors say her prognosis is good.
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