A Palestinian boy from the Gaza strip has been saved by a very three complex and highly sophisticated medical operations taking place at the same time. The surgeries were performed at the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa and saved the life of Madchat Tapash who is just 7 years old.
Tapash was born with a defect in his renal system that caused life-threatening kidney failure and an improperly functioning bladder, requiring a multidisciplinary team of specialists to repair the damage.
The operation consisted of three different surgeries conducted almost simultaneously, in which the boy’s bladder was reconstructed, a kidney donated by his mother was removed from her body and implanted in his body, and finally, Madchat’s new kidney was successfully connected to his reconstructed bladder.
For the past two-and-a-half years, Madchat has been undergoing dialysis treatment. Because of his severe medical condition, he was unable to receive the care he needed through the Palestinian Authority’s healthcare system and was transferred to Rambam by Yazid Falah, Health Coordinator for patients from the PA.
The “Think About Others” Association raised funds to help pay for the child’s surgery.
Rambam assembled a large, highly skilled multi-disciplinary team from multiple hospital departments to perform the operation. Medical specialists from the Pediatric Urology Clinic, under the leadership of Dr. Akram Assadi, and the Pediatric Nephrology Institute, together with surgeons, renal implant specialists, hematologists, radiologists, anesthesiologists and pharmacists worked to create an operational plan to save the boy’s life. Professor Pinhas Livneh, formerly the director of Pediatric Urology at Rambam, provided expert consultation and guidance.
Madchat’s mother Sumar, who has four other children, offered to donate her kidney to her son and was found to be a suitable match. “I would have given him my soul, my eyes, and that I should die so that he could live—anything to stop his suffering,” said Sumar.
Madchat had already undergone 15 surgeries and dozens of procedures.
The surgery lasted for approximately 11 hours.
When it was all over, Sumar joyfully exclaimed, “It is wonderful to give a part of your body to heal your child. You feel the closeness – it is as if we were one body.”
–Wire services
