Surgeons overcame several obstacles to successfully complete an organ transplant surgery for a three-year-old with inherited kidney disease, Taipei Veterans’ General Hospital said yesterday.
The patient, a girl surnamed Hsu (許), was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, a rare genetic disorder, at birth, the hospital told a news conference.
She has taken medication and had dialysis daily since she was two, and the condition limited her growth, it said, adding that at 86.3cm and 11.5kg, she is shorter and lighter than most other children her age.
Photo: CNA
Pediatric Surgery Division director Tsai Hsin-lin (蔡昕霖) said that most children who need a kidney transplant have inherited urinary system abnormalities, glomerulonephritis, acute kidney damage or other genetic disorders.
However, dialysis can cause delays in physical and neurocognitive development in young children, Tsai said.
As their bodies are so small, surgery on the urinary system of children with chronic kidney disease is more complicated, but if they do not get a kidney transplant before adulthood, the stunting of their growth might worsen, leading to learning disabilities, uremia, anemia, or even acute stroke or heart attack, he said.
Getting a transplant is a race against time, he added.
Another issue is that most kidney donors are adults, Tsai said.
After waiting a year for a compatible kidney from a donor who weighed 57kg, the big challenge for the surgical team was how to implant a 12cm-long kidney into Hsu’s abdominal cavity, which was only about 20cm long, he said, adding that the organ they removed was 8cm long.
The team had to precisely calculate the dimensions of Hsu’s abdominal cavity and the operation took seven hours, he said.
The surgeons removed the damaged kidney, moved her large intestine and duodenum to the left to make room for the donor kidney and connected blood vessels to it to prevent tubular necrosis, he said.
The team also reported the successful cases of a nine-year-old child, surnamed Chen (陳) and four other kidney transplants involving children since August 2020.
Pediatric Division director Chang Jei-wen (張瑞文) said that a kidney transplant is the best treatment for children with end-stage renal disease, as it not only has the best prognosis, but can also allow a young patient’s physical and cognitive growth to catch up with children of the same age.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
RSS