World's First Placenta Stem Cell Operation Saves a Little Boy With Congenital Heart Defect

Finley Pantry, 2, was born with a congenital heart defect, which meant that the two main arteries giving blood to his lungs and body were in the wrong positions. He had his first open-heart surgery at the age of four days to switch the main arteries to their proper place.

Unfortunately, he encountered difficulties, and his heart function gradually worsened, putting him in critical care for weeks, reliant on medications and a ventilator to keep his heart beating. Now, a cardiac surgeon may have given him a "chance at life" owing to the world's first procedure that used placental stem cells, MailOnline reported.

World's First Stem Cell 'Scaffolding' Correct Heart Defect

Bristol Heart Institute's Professor Massimo Caputo told the little boy's mother that he could try using the pioneering placenta stem cell "scaffolding" to correct Finley's heart defect.

The procedure involves injecting the placenta stem cells directly into the boy's heart to help damaged blood vessels grow. Within two weeks after the operation, Finley was discharged for the first time since he was six months old. He was weaned off the drugs and ventilation he was on that helped him breathe at night and now he is a happy growing boy.

Melissa Hudd, Finley's mother, said that her son almost died when he was two months old when doctors called them into a room and said that they had done everything could. It was also then that Massimo came to find them and explained the last option they have to save their boy, which is to inject the stem cells into the left side of his heart of Finley.

Given the complexity of the procedure and the fact that this will be the first in the world, Massimo explained to Finley's parents that he could not predict the outcome. But with Finley's condition at that time, they felt determined to go through the procedure to try and give him every possible chance of living.

According to Derbyshire Live's report, Professor Caputo used donor stem cells and injected them into Finley's heart during a second surgical procedure that would aid damaged blood vessels to grow which will increase the blood supply in the left side of his heart.

Finley's parents were grateful to Professor Caputo and the placenta stem cells as Finley would have not survived his condition. His parents described him as a real heart warrior after undergoing the procedure.

Stem Cell Patches Grow With the Heart

Many infants with heart defects are now treated with open-heart surgery to temporarily correct the condition, but the materials used are not completely biological so they cannot grow with them and may be rejected.

Professor Caputo's stem cell patches are intended to be sewn into the portion of the child's heart requiring repair after surgery. The stem cells might then help with heart tissue regeneration without being rejected by the child's body.

Scientists at the Royal Free Hospital in London have grown these so-called "allogenic" cells and millions of them were injected into Finley's heart, according to BBC. These cells can grow into tissues and will not be rejected as Finley grows to remove the need for repetitive heart surgeries and has even regenerated his damaged heart muscle.

Check out more news and information on Medicine & Health in Science Times.