Uzbek girl receives successful brain surgeries in Shanghai
A 4-year-old Uzbekistan girl with rare, progressive cerebrovascular disorder has received two successful brain surgeries in Shanghai.
A 4-year-old Uzbek girl with rare, progressive cerebrovascular disorder has received two successful brain surgeries in Shanghai and was discharged having recovered, officials from the Children's Hospital of Fudan University said on Tuesday.
The girl started to suffer lower limb weakness and crying constantly a year ago and developed seizures on the right part of her body since March. A local hospital diagnosed her as suffering moyamoya disease, which is caused by blocked arteries at the base of the brain. Moyamoya means "puff of smoke" in Japanese and is used to describe the tangled appearance of the tiny vessels compensating for the blockage.
The girl received medication but it failed to control the disease and her condition continued to deteriorate.
The most effective treatment for the disorder is surgery. The girl's parents consulted experts in Uzbekistan, Russia, and Turkey but found they had limited experience of the disease.
The family finally contacted Dr Xu Bin of Shanghai's Huashan Hospital as he has made many speeches on the disease at international medical conferences. Xu told them that the children's hospital has an experienced team on the disease and conducts nearly 100 surgeries each year.
After detailed preparations, the family brought the girl to Shanghai on April 17 and she was hospitalized at the Children's Hospital of Fudan University, which conducted extensive checks before making an individualized surgery plan.
According to Dr Li Hao, director of the neurological surgery department, the girl suffered artery blockages on both sides and should receive two surgeries.
Dr Xu Bin and Dr Li Hao led the first surgery on the right part of the brain on April 23 and a second surgery on the left part on June 4.
Doctors perform a surgery.
Since the family only had a one-month visa, the hospital helped them to extend it to three months to ensure smooth treatment. During the interval between the two surgeries, doctors also conducted rehabilitation and music therapy to help the girl recover proper mobility and language ability, as well as soothing her mood.
The girl recovered smoothly and was released on Monday.
Doctors said the girl received complete surgical therapy, which reconstructed the blood transportation and renovated her brain circulation on both sides of the brain.
After proper treatment, over 80 percent of children with moyamoya disease experience clinical recovery and over 90 percent can see lessening of their symptoms and are able to regain a regular life, experts said.
The girl's family takes picture with doctors after surgery.
