Johannesburg doctors are expected to make a decision on Thursday afternoon on whether to operate on six-day-old baby Ashleigh who was born with part of her heart outside her chest.
“We are meeting with the cardiothoracic surgeon at about 3.00pm and after that we will speak about it and are definitely expected to make some kind of decision today,” said Professor Sithembiso Velaphi, head of Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital’s neo-natal unit.
“Once the decision is made, we will inform the family first and then you.”
Baby Ashleigh was born at the Soweto hospital with part of her heart outside her chest and covered by a thin layer of skin. She has only half her ribcage.
“The baby is in a high care neo-natal unit and is only on an oxygen machine. Reports that she was on life support machines are not true,” Velaphi told the South African Press Association (Sapa) in an earlier interview.
Not critical
Claims that Ashleigh’s family was given until Friday to decide whether to switch off machines were also not true, he said.
“She is sick but not critical. She is stable and only requires oxygen at this time.”
He said although Ashleigh’s condition was rare, it was not the first in South Africa.
“The main problem with this condition is the number of abnormalities which include the heart, the diaphragm, the lungs and other organs.
“Part of the heart which is inside the body is not formed normally as well. So there are two parts to the correction — one is to get the heart outside the chest back into position, and the other is to fix the heart inside.”
Earlier Chief executive of the Walter Sisulu Paediatric Cardiac Centre for Africa at Sunninghill Hospital, Lynda Bleazard, said she had never seen anything like this before.
“I don’t know if she’s the only one with this condition in the country, but I have received numerous e-mails from people at Baragwanath asking me to assist.” — Sapa