Saturday, January 28, 2012

Doctors save baby born with no blood

From http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/01/27/doctors-save-baby-born-with-no-blood/print

Published January 27, 2012
| NewsCore
fox news
A British baby was miraculously saved after being born with no blood in his body.
A rare condition drained Oliver Morgan's small frame of almost every drop while he was in the womb.
When he was delivered he looked pale and stillborn -- and doctors were unable to find a heartbeat for an astonishing 25 minutes.
But battling Oliver survived against all odds after being given oxygen, gentle heart massage and a lifesaving blood transfusion. Medics fought back tears when his heart monitor let out the first telltale beep.
Oliver is now a happy, healthy 15-month-old toddler.
His mom, 36-year-old Katy Morgan from Maidstone, southern England, said Thursday, "Oliver's birth was so traumatic that I haven't been able to bring myself to tell his story till now. He was born dead with no blood in his body -- but now he's sitting here smiling at me."
"The doctors literally brought him back to life and I will never be able to thank them enough for this wonderful gift," she added.
Oliver almost bled to death after a rare condition called vasa previa formed an extra vein in his mom's womb. It burst -- and she woke up covered in blood 37.5 weeks into her pregnancy.
She was rushed to the Maidstone General Hospital and was shocked to discover it had all come from her baby.
Oliver was born by emergency C-section weighing six pounds and one ounce (2.8 kilograms) at 5.12am local time. After attempts to resuscitate him, he was given a blood transfusion pumped into the still-attached umbilical cord.
At 5.37am local time the first heartbeat was detected and grew stronger as he was given more blood.
Katy Morgan -- who was anesthetized and unaware of the drama -- said, "Doctors said it was one of the most amazing recoveries they'd ever seen. Oliver had no blood, no heartbeat and looked stillborn -- but somehow they got him back."
Oliver was taken to a special care baby unit where doctors decided to lower his body temperature to save his brain from damage. He was placed inside a tiny coat which chilled him to 91 degrees Fahrenheit (33 degrees Celsius) to make blood flow away from his skin and to his brain and heart so they would heal more efficiently.
After three nail-biting days, consultants slowly began raising his temperature to the normal 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius). And after just 11 days Oliver was well enough to be taken home to start family life.
"It's hard to believe, looking back at what he's been through -- but Ollie's now a bright, happy boy with his whole life ahead of him," his mom said.
Click here to read more from The Sun.

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