A Leeds baby who was screaming in pain whenever she passed solid foods and a boy who kept vomiting blood were in vital need of liver surgery – but kept being turned away even though their issues were potentially fatal.
A shocking BBC docu-series showed how Leeds General Infirmary struggles to secure beds for their patients to the extent that even the most needy who are due to be operated on have to be turned away countless times.
One-year-old Maya-Mae, who’d already had one operation cancelled, appeared on BBC Two’s Saving Lives in Leeds which broadcast tonight (March 8). The baby was born with a large cyst growing in one of the ducts of her liver. The cyst was life threatening and needed to be removed or risked becoming a cancerous tumour.
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Maya-Mae’s mum, who was not named, said: “I’m very very nervous for the whole procedure. You just want nothing but the best for your kid. Especially with your first kid, you have that new mum worry already, anyway. And then for this to be added on top! This past year has been nothing but stress and worry.”
Paediatric Surgeon Naved Alizaisaid, who was due to operate on May-Mae, said: “It’s a serious condition, if in the long run you don’t remove it then it can change to cancer.”
The anxious mum added: “She’s eating a lot of solid food now, so she’s been literally screaming in pain trying to push it out and I just don’t want her to keep going through that.”
Naved’s other patient Ollie, eight, had a serious liver condition. The boy had a blockage to the blood supply in his liver, if left untreated it was likely to become fatal. His surgery had previously been cancelled four times. It was first scheduled before pandemic.
Ollie’s dad, who wasn't named, said: “It started three or maybe four years ago. Unfortunately, he was not feeling so well and then he vomited lots of blood. So we took him to A and E.”
Ollie’s blood was bypassing the liver and affecting other organs, the brain and lungs for example. Naved said: “The blood has to go through the liver to filter the nutrients.
“Because the blood is bypassing the liver, these toxic substances can go into the rest of the body and cause serious bleeding. People have died because of that bleeding.
“They vomit blood and they can die. So it is a very serious condition.”
Molly-Mae unfortunately tested positive for Covid-19 so had to have her operation cancelled a second time and then return for a rescheduled third visit. Naved’s operation was successful and she had the cyst removed.
Ollie’s operation was also successful. Naved attached a vein from the boy’s neck to his liver, making a shunt, to allow blood flow.
