A 21-day-old baby survived 11 hours of grueling heart surgery after surgeons held his tiny body together with a thin piece of medical film.
Matthew Malloy’s heart could be seen beating through the clear membrane while his father videotaped the operation.
Matthew, of Northampton, England, was born with four major heart problems, and the odds of having all four problems are more than 10,000 to one.
Matthew was born with DiGeorge Syndrome, which meant part of his DNA was missing. His heart was on the wrong side of his body and had two holes in it. A major artery was blocked, meaning blood could only reach his head.
Matthew’s organs were so swollen after his surgery that surgeons could not sew his chest cavity shut. They wrapped the gaping hole shut for two days to prevent infection.
Matthew was discharged four weeks after the surgery and is now doing great, doctors said.
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