Dadelin
Dr. Joyce Chen, Interplast Webster Fellow.
Prior to our arrival in La Paz, our team was aware of Dadelin, an angelic one-month-old baby girl who had congenital amniotic bands in her left leg that were causing intermittent compromise of blood flow to her foot. These constriction bands are formed in utero and have the potential to act like tourniquets, cutting off the blood supply to the arm or leg.
After Dr. Terrazas had initially evaluated her in one of the more remote areas in Bolivia and had recommended that surgery be postponed until she was older, her pediatrician called to tell him that the blood flow to her foot was getting worse. Routinely, our team does not operate on patients less than three months old, but we knew that we would likely need to make an exception to save her foot. We were fortunate to have several pediatric trained anesthesiologists on our team that were comfortable and competent administering anesthesia to neonates and infants. We operated and partially released the amniotic constriction bands and restored blood flow to her foot. Dadelin’s recovery was uneventful and after surgery, just like any other baby her age, she spent most of her day peacefully sleeping. Her tiny toes remained pink and warm.
Prior to our arrival in La Paz, our team was aware of Dadelin, an angelic one-month-old baby girl who had congenital amniotic bands in her left leg that were causing intermittent compromise of blood flow to her foot. These constriction bands are formed in utero and have the potential to act like tourniquets, cutting off the blood supply to the arm or leg.
After Dr. Terrazas had initially evaluated her in one of the more remote areas in Bolivia and had recommended that surgery be postponed until she was older, her pediatrician called to tell him that the blood flow to her foot was getting worse. Routinely, our team does not operate on patients less than three months old, but we knew that we would likely need to make an exception to save her foot. We were fortunate to have several pediatric trained anesthesiologists on our team that were comfortable and competent administering anesthesia to neonates and infants. We operated and partially released the amniotic constriction bands and restored blood flow to her foot. Dadelin’s recovery was uneventful and after surgery, just like any other baby her age, she spent most of her day peacefully sleeping. Her tiny toes remained pink and warm.
