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A team of physicians at a children’s hospital in the United Kingdom made a teen girl’s dream come true with a breakthrough surgery. Lillie Yale, a 14-year-old from Warrington, wants to be a professional rugby player someday, but a heart condition nearly thwarted her dreams.
A permanent metal device implant to repair a hole in her heart would have left Lillie on the sidelines. Surgeons at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool implanted a biodegradable atrial septal defect closure instead. The surgery was a huge success, and now Lillie is back to what she loves.
Lillie is the first patient in the UK to be treated with the device.
Lillie’s surgery took place in June, and she began the road to recovery. According to the BBC, the device, Memosorb, had never been used on a patient to repair a hole in the heart. Dr Salim Jivanji, consultant pediatric cardiologist, told the news outlet that Lillie’s device will work as a “scaffold” to repair the hole in her heart.
“The body reacts to the structure of the device,” Jivanji explained. “It slowly covers it with the lining of the heart, and the polymer starts getting dissolved into carbon dioxide and water within the tissue and slowly disappears completely.”
The hole in Lillie’s heart should close in six to 24 months.
Lillie is back to enjoying her active lifestyle.
Jivanji explained that if Lillie had a traditional metal implant, contact sports would be off the table. Those types of implants can become dislodged, creating a dangerous situation. Lillie knew that’s not what she wanted for herself, and could not be more pleased with her life today.
The teenager told the news outlet she’s very happy with her results. “It’s amazing to know I was the first person in the UK to have this new type of implant,” Lillie said. “I’m enjoying doing the things I love and not having to worry about my heart.”
She’s thrilled to be back to her active lifestyle.
Her mom praised Lillie’s medical team.
Alder Hey shared Lillie’s story on social media. “The bioabsorbable device supports her heart as it heals before gradually dissolving, allowing Lillie to continue doing what she loves. And she hasn’t looked back! Just two weeks after her procedure, she completed a 5K with her rugby teammates, raising more than £1,000 for cancer research. She’s now back at school and training with her team,” a Facebook post reads.
Becci Nichols, Lillie’s mom, shared how much the doctors and nurses love and care for Lillie meant to the family.
“Every one of the interventional cardiology team and nurses on ward 1C who cared for Lillie wanted the very best for our family and went above and beyond to help Lillie continue with her normal life,” Nichols said.
This mother agreed with Nichols, writing, “My son had heart surgery at alder hey such an amazing team and hospital.”
“Cant thank the team enough for looking after my niece,” another person wrote.
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