At 31 weeks of pregnancy, the baby nearly died because of a knot in the umbilical cord
In Ternopil, doctors performed an emergency C-section at 31 weeks of pregnancy after the woman noticed that the baby had become much less active. Examination revealed that the long umbilical cord had become knotted, causing the baby girl to suffer from acute oxygen deprivation.
The baby was born weighing only 1,700 grams and suffering from severe asphyxia. Within the first 24 hours, she suffered a massive intraventricular hemorrhage in the brain, which later recurred. The infant’s condition was critical, so she was transported by ambulance to Lviv—to St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital.
The girl spent nearly three weeks in the intensive care unit. She was fed through a feeding tube, was on a ventilator for some time, and doctors worked to treat her seizures and the effects of severe damage to her central nervous system.
Once her condition stabilized, neurosurgeons implanted an Omay shunt, which allows excess cerebrospinal fluid and blood to be drained from the brain’s ventricles.
Throughout her treatment, the girl’s condition was monitored around the clock using special neonatal sensors. These allow medical staff to quickly detect a drop in blood oxygen levels or changes in heart rate and respond promptly. Since the sensors are disposable, the hospital must constantly replenish its supply.
Currently, the little patient is already with her mother in the post-intensive care unit. The girl has become more active and has gained her first 300 grams, but she still requires constant monitoring by neonatologists and neurosurgeons.
St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital, in partnership with dobro.ua, has launched a fundraising campaign for the neonatal sensors needed to save premature babies.
Source: St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital / First Medical Association of Lviv
In Lviv, doctors performed a rare combined surgical procedure. During a cesarean section, a 26-year-old woman underwent simultaneous removal of a recurrent ventral hernia, which could have caused serious complications after childbirth. As a result, a healthy baby boy was born, and the mother avoided another surgery and a lengthy recovery.
