Nine-year-old boy youngest in UK to undergo rare pancreatic surgery

Archie Routledge, pictured with his father, Mark, has a rare genetic condition that causes hereditary pancreatitis Photograph: Supplied

A nine-year-old boy is settling back into family life after becoming the youngest person in the UK to undergo a marathon, life-saving surgical procedure that involved removing the pancreas and injecting its insulin-producing cells into the liver.

Archie Routledge, from Workington, in Cumbria, has a rare genetic condition that causes hereditary pancreatitis. It inflames the pancreas causing debilitating abdominal pain and significantly increases the risk of pancreatic cancer in later life.