Bologna, 17 June 2024 – A race against time, from Ancona to Bologna, to save little Haider. This is the operation conducted by the department Cardiac surgery and pediatric surgery at the Sant’Orsola Polyclinicwho saved the life of a five year old boy. At the end of March, the little one ingested a disk stack without the knowledge of the parents. In Ancona the battery is removed, but in the following days the child begins to feel ill, vomiting blood.
The Ancona health workers intervened immediately and transferred the little boy by air ambulance under the Two Towers, where he was taken care of by the Sant’Orsola medical team. “This type of battery is dangerous, because attaches to the esophageal mucosa and it can also lead to drilling of the esophagus – explains Professor Mario Lima, director of Pediatric Surgery, who performed the operation –. And in case of perforation, it could be the aorta was also affectedcreating a fistula between the artery and the organ.”
“After intubated travel, due to a drop in blood pressure, the child was transferred to the operating room – continues Lima –. We operated on him with Professor Andrea Donti (Pediatric Cardiology, ed.). Professor Lima stopped the bleeding from the esophagus with a probe; Dr. Donti applied one endoprosthesis on the aorta side. After the operation, the little one was in intensive care, monitored by Dr. Marta Agulli’s team (anaesthesia and cardiac surgical intensive care). Then, the stay in pediatric surgery, where he spent a month. Now Haider is fine and is ready to go home.
The family of little Haider in the square in Bologna after the treatment that saved him
“But this story it must be a warning for parents – underlines Lima –: they must pay attention in cases of ingestion of disk batteries, never to be underestimated”. Also because “the picture was critical – underlines the cardiac surgeon Emanuela Angeli –, it was necessary to intervene. A synergy and collaboration between professionals was created which was highlighted good healthcare. This allowed save the child”.
Muhammad Faizan Rana, the little boy’s father, doesn’t hold back his emotion. “The health workers were true angels – he concludes –. They treated my son like family. And thanks to the availability of Piccoli Grandi Cuori Onlus e Casa Emilia, my wife and my other daughter were also able to stay here near Haider. Let’s go home thanking everyone: this is healthcare that is valid and that works.”
