A unique surgery for a two-year-old girl with a rare liver anomaly

EMC doctors performed a unique operation on a two-year-old girl with a rare liver anomaly In June 2024, specialists from the European Medical Center successfully performed a complex minimally invasive surgical intervention on a 2—year-old child with a rare abnormality of liver blood vessel development - arteriovenous malformation.

The disease was detected in a girl at the age of 1 month at the first ultrasound scan, despite the absence of external manifestations. The anomaly is characterized by the formation of a vascular plexus in one of the segments of the liver, through which arterial blood under high pressure flows directly into the veins, bypassing the natural blood flow pathways. This condition is prone to progression and can lead to severe damage to the lungs and heart.

The girl's parents turned to EMC in search of the most modern and gentle treatment method after one of the federal health institutions offered them an operation to remove part of the liver along with vascular education. Such operations are extremely stressful for the whole body, carry a significant risk of complications, and the child's recovery would require a long stay in the hospital. EMC specialists of various profiles, having discussed the situation, came to the general conclusion that the child should undergo selective embolization of the branches of one of the hepatic arteries feeding the vascular formation.

The operation was performed through a point puncture in the thigh area using a special catheter with a diameter of less than a millimeter. Four abnormal arterial vessels were embolized during the intervention. The girl underwent surgery well and was discharged home after 2 days.

"Such operations in young patients are extremely difficult, but if successful, the child can return to normal life within a few days, and no traces remain on the body," commented EMC pediatric surgeon Roman Ignatiev.

The child remains under the supervision of EMC specialists, and after 2 months, a liver ultrasound scan will be performed to confirm the achieved effect.