4-Month-Old Baby Born with Truncus Arteriosus Survives Heart Impairment After Successful Partial Transplant Using Living Tissue, A World’s First

A world-first partial heart transplant using living tissue was performed on a five-pound newborn boy with fatal heart disease.

Now four months old, Owen Monroe from North Carolina was Born with truncus arteriosus, a condition in which the aorta and pulmonary artery are fusing, a Meaww report specified.

Since the surgery at Duke University in North Carolina four months back, the baby has been "flourishing and has attained all development milestones. The procedure, the child's mother Tayler Monroe said, "was a miracle" and helped save the life of her son.

Shortly after birth, doctors separated the boy and his mother and repaired the baby's "leaky" heart valves using tissues that would develop with him.

This prevented the need for further surgery. Dead tissue is usually employed in surgeries to repair fused valves, although it needs to be replaced in complicated procedures up to three times before adulthood and every ten years after that.

ALSO READ: New Study Reveals Cortisol Found in Hair Can Predict Cardiovascular Risk

(Photo: Pexels/Natalie)
A 4-month-old baby has been flourishing and has reached all developmental milestones after a successful heart transplant using living tissue.

World's First Partial Transplant

Essentially, the living arteries and valves from a recently donated heart were combined with the existing heart of the patient by a Duke Health team in what is believed to be the world's first partial transplant.

As stated in a Duke Health report, Owen has been exhibiting remarkable growth and improvements since undergoing surgery in April this year, and this outlook stays strong.

When Owen Monroe was born, he was disgnosed with truncus arteriosus, which meant that two of his heart's main arteries were fused together. Doctors performed a partial transplant, believed to be the first of its kind in the world, to save the baby's life. https://t.co/N4lGreWSkm
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 10, 2022

Owen's father, Nick Monroe, said, as harrowing of an experience as it was for their family, they knew from the start that "Owen was in the best hands.?

Given that their son could already suffer from heart failure soon after death, Tayler and Nicholas, both his parents, said they had few options after they found out about their son's diagnosis.

Specifically, they were informed that Owen would probably not make it off the six-month waiting list for a full transplant.

Then, they decided to take part in the experimental surgery at Duke University, which would use living tissue to split the combined arteries.

Born with Fused Arteries and 'Leaky' Heart Valve

The standard procedure typically comprises the use of tissue from a cadaver, and approximately 90 percent of infants who receive it survive for over 40 years.

Nonetheless, the American Heart Association has approximated that because they will grow, they will necessitate at least three additional surgeries to replace the tissue in their lifetime. During adulthood, it might also need to be replaced every decade.

When Owen was born, doctors discovered that in addition to having fused arteries, he also had a heart valve that was "leaky" and would need to be replaced.

Good heart valves are crucial as they prevent circulation-interrupting blood flow back in the wrong direction. During the procedure, the boy was given living tissue and valves that belonged to an infant's donor heart.

An Innovation That Extends a Child's Life

According to Dr. Joseph Turek, Duke's chief of pediatric cardiac surgery who led surgery of Owen, the procedure is potentially solving the problem of a growing valve.

He added that the need for multiple open-heart surgeries could be eliminated each time a child outgrows an old valve, and the life of the child could be extended by potentially decades or even longer.

Dr. Michael Carboni, who's working at the university, and is the pediatric transplant cardiologist of Owen said, what is specifically remarkable about this procedure is that, not only is this innovation something that can extend children's lives, but it makes use of a donated heart as well, that would otherwise not be transplantable.

On the other hand, in this procedure, the valves come from a donor heart that had muscle tissue that was very weak to make it feasible for full transplant, although it had strong valves that were well suited for the needs of Owen.

Lastly, without surgery, truncus arteriosus typically leads to a baby's death due to the heart that needs to work too hard to deliver a part of the body.

A report about Owen Monroe is shown on Duke Health's YouTube video below: