Elliana Joy White, 8 months old, had a rare double lung transplant. White was born with a genetic disease. White happened to be the one in a million babies to be struck with the disease.

When Elliana White was born, she couldn’t breathe independently. Doctors found Elliana White had a protein deficiency without a cure or treatment. The White family, of Canton, Ohio, were at St. Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri because the surgeons had the most experience in lung transplants. The lung transplant operations have been done less than 50 times in the past 15 years.

A donor’s lungs from Philadelphia were transplanted into Elliana White’s chest in August. White was kept isolated to avoid infection. White received help breathing with a ventilator. The White family was able to return home to Ohio this week, in time for Christmas.

Elliana White news.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 25th, 2008 at 4:51 pm and is filed under Health.