25 years ago, community donations funded this hospital’s first laparoscopic surgery kit – enabling Calgary kids to become the first in western Canada to benefit from complex surgeries performed through tiny incisions. ACH has developed nation-leading expertise so kids like Isabella can experience less pain, reduced risk of infection, quicker recovery and minimal scarring.
It was a scan for something completely different that revealed a serious threat to Isabella’s future.
The 5-year-old had reflux since she was a baby. Her GP ordered an ultrasound which showed that her bile duct was enlarged/bulging. She immediately referred her to ACH. Surgeons told Tamara and Dan that if left alone, the enlarged bile duct could block the flow of bile from the liver causing her to become severely ill. The enlarged duct could also cause cancer later in her life.
The news was shocking since Isabella showed no signs of being unwell. But they knew they couldn’t risk leaving the enlarged duct untreated.
Isabella needed surgery to remove her bile duct and gall bladder, and then reconstruct her anatomy to allow bile to flow from her liver to her intestine. Because every child’s anatomy is different, there’s no such thing as a textbook surgery. The team would have to get in the OR and see how Isabella’s vessels and organs were configured before deciding how best to perform the two-part operation.
Five years ago, the team would have had only one option – to open her abdomen right up, cut through muscle and tissue, sever her bowel and rearrange her intestinal tract. Thankfully, once they got inside, the team was able to avoid that extensive reconstruction and, using their minimally-invasive expertise, reconnect the small remaining stump of her bile duct protruding from her liver, directly to her small intestine. They completed the removal of her bile duct/gall bladder and re-connection of her liver to her intestine through four tiny incisions, less than a cm each. Isabella recovered very quickly. She was colouring the first day after surgery, up and about day two, surfing on her IV pole on day three and home on day five. Today, this happy little athlete is playing tennis, badminton and squash, dancing, swimming, biking, skating, skiing and horseback riding.
We are raising money during this year’s Radiothon for new minimally-invasive surgical equipment to make surgery safer and easier for more kids like Isabella.
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