Naples – The fate of Domenico, the two-year-and-four-month-old boy admitted to Naples' Monaldi Hospital, is being decided in these hours. A national team of cardiologists is meeting to assess whether the boy is eligible for a second heart transplant, after receiving an organ damaged during the removal process on December 23rd.
"There's a 10 percent chance the operation will be successful," Francesco Petruzzi, the lawyer representing the child's mother, told reporters. This percentage reflects the dramatic nature of the clinical situation: Domenico has been on an ECMO since the day of his first transplant and has developed serious complications affecting several organs.
The difficult search for a surgeon
The child's fragile general condition made the search for a heart surgeon willing to operate particularly complex. "No heart surgeon is willing to operate on the child," Petruzzi explained, emphasizing that the only professional willing to take the risk is "the doctor who performed the first transplant."
A decision that forced his mother, Patrizia, to reconsider her position. She had initially asked that the surgeon not operate on her son, but "given the lack of surgeons willing to take on the case, she agreed," the lawyer said.
Waiting for the final decision
While the Heart Team evaluates the baby's transplantability in a hospital room, the mother waits outside. "The baby is awake," Petruzzi explained, "and on a neurological level, I think the mother's presence is causing the baby some anxiety."
According to the Monaldi bulletin, doctors are evaluating only the possibility of proceeding with the transplant, assuring that "this delay is not compromising the donor's organ." It remains unclear whether the National Transplant Center will have final say on authorization for the procedure.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
Reading this article, I felt very sorry for Domenico's situation. It's truly sad that such a young child has to deal with such health problems and that there's so little hope for surgery. I hope the doctors find a solution.