Mother Thankful After Ailing Girl Has Multi-Organ Transplant
PITTSBURGH (AP) - An ailing 8-year-old girl from western Pennsylvania has undergone a rare multi-organ transplant.
Doctors say Kyree Beachem received a liver, pancreas, and small and large intestines on Wednesday. The surgery at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh took about 10 hours.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the patient from Ellwood City has been waiting more than five years for new organs.
Kyree was born with Hirschsprung's disease, in which nerve cells are missing from the colon. She has been hospitalized frequently in recent months and is totally reliant on intravenous feeding.
In a Facebook post Thursday, Kyree's mother expressed thanks to the hospital and family of the unnamed donor. Nan Beachem says Kyree remains sedated and will need follow-up surgery.
Kyree's body rejected a small intestine transplant after 10 days in 2010.
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