A 10-year-old girl in the United Kingdom is now “disabled” after seven surgeries were postponed
Eva Tennant’s case is now “effective”, according to her mother. A 10-year-old British girl has Rett syndrome and is now suffering irreversible effects after her spinal operation was postponed seven times, the BBC revealed on Wednesday (March 27).
Rett syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that affects brain development and can cause bone deformities such as scoliosis. Young Eva suffers from advanced scoliosis as a result. His spinal curvature was 60.89 degrees in May 2022, which increased to 107.9 degrees last year and is currently 110 degrees, according to his mother, Jill Lockhart.
“I can’t get an explanation.”
“They waited so long, and now they say it’s too late. I feel my daughter’s chances of survival have been sacrificed,” the mother told the BBC. “We were told last week that the operation could take place on March 28. Today, we are told it is inefficient and I cannot get an explanation from the hospital as to why the situation changed so quickly,” Jill Lockhart laments.
Eva Tennant could “live another 15 to 30 years” thanks to this spinal operation. “Without him, she risks death,” maintains her mother. Her operation at Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, was postponed three times due to staff shortages and four more times due to the little girl’s breathing problems. For Jill Lockhart, these problems were the result of earlier postponement because the significant curvature of her spine put pressure on her vital organs.
Surgeon in-charge of operation suspended
An investigation by the BBC in 2023 found that understaffing in the Scottish healthcare infrastructure meant waiting times for spinal operations were three times longer than before the pandemic. But British media also discovered that a pediatric surgeon at the institute responsible for monitoring Eva had been suspended.
The girl’s family was informed by the hospital in mid-March that the doctor would no longer care for her without giving them any reason to justify the change. “If a practitioner is unable to practice for any reason, patients and their families will be informed of the impact of this absence on their care and their case will be assigned to another surgeon as soon as possible – particularly if their condition so dictates,” British Public A health organization is a local agency of the NHS.
