Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Medindia

Brave Aidan Fraser Heading Home After Lifesaving Surgery

by Medindia Content Team on Nov 28 2006 3:26 PM

Aiden Fraser, a 6-year-old brave boy, is returning home only a few days after undergoing a rare surgery for removing a tumor that twisted around his spine in Bronx hospital. The Brooklyn boy, whose father died at the World Trade Center five years ago, suffers from a rare disease called neurofibromatosis, an aggressive disease that causes tumors to grow at the end of nerves.

The Brooklyn boy had wowed doctors with his upbeat spirit saying, “they saved my life”, despite enduring incredible pain and heartbreak. He also said that he would see his dog and get his work done once he is back home.

In the high-risk two-stage operation that took 18 hours, team of 5 doctors at the Bronx’s Montefiore Medical center cut away parts of the tumor, which had caused a grotesque twist in his upper spine, overstretching his spinal cord. They removed the deformed bones in the boy’s neck that had been crushed by the tumor and replaced them with healthy bones that were taken from the ribs.

The doctors said that without an operation, the occasional paralysis experienced by the boy would have become permanent.

Aidan had developed the noncancerous tumor shortly after the death of his father five years ago, making him unable to walk. The biggest challenge for the surgical team was getting through the tumor without damaging the nerves, blood supply and air supply that run through it.

Suzanne Fraser, Aidan's mother, said that her son was a "tough kid" who was doing great and Dr. Adam Levy, a pediatric oncologist, a team member of the operation and the one who brought the Frasers to Montefiore added that the boy was able to walk with assistance from people on each side of him. Dr. Adam Levy coincidentally was a high school classmate of Aidan's father. The entire medical team has planned to support Aidan after his release on Monday.

Source-Medindia
SRI


Advertisement