Gifts of life
Children's performs first pediatric multivisceral transplant in Texas
Abby Owen's first birthday looked like the typical celebration — a room filled with family, friends, balloons and gifts. But, inside Children's Medical Center Dallas, the party was far from ordinary, as the 1-year-old and her guests of honor celebrated the gifts of life Abby received just months before.
Treating multiple symptoms
Born at 32 weeks gestation, Abby weighed nearly four pounds. At seven days old exploratory surgery uncovered issues — Abby had only one-third of her small intestine and one-fourth of her large intestine. After a three-month stay in the neonatal intensive care unit at a local hospital, she was discharged.
Six days later, Abby developed an elevated temperature and her parents, Randi and Yancy Owen of Terrell, rushed her to Children's. The following months resulted in long stays at the hospital for a variety of symptoms.
A couple of months later, because of extreme jaundice and abnormal test results, Dr. Naveen Mittal, medical director of Intestinal Transplantation at Children's and associate professor of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern, performed a liver biopsy on Abby, which revealed a severely damaged liver.
New organs needed
Dr. Srinath Chinnakotla, surgical director of Intestinal Transplantation at Children's and assistant professor of Transplantation at UT Southwestern Medical Center, determined that Abby needed a transplant.
Performing a multivisceral transplant on a baby Abby's size posed a significant risk. Because of the tiny vessels, thrombosis — the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel — could occur during the surgery. Abby's would be the first pediatric multivisceral transplant performed in Texas.
Miraculous healing
As soon as Dr. Chinnakotla arrived with Abby's new gifts of life — a liver, pancreas and intestines — the team set to work. The surgery was deemed a success, and after recovering, Abby arrived home two days before planned.
Abby, now 2, recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of her transplant surgery. Drs. Chinnakotla and Mittal expect her to continue progressing like a normal toddler.
"Abby likes to bounce to music and she lights up around her big sister," Randi said. "She's doing great — our miracle baby."
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Yancy and Randi Owen celebrate with 2-year-old Abby Owen and their 7-year-old daughter, Jaci Pfeifer, nearly one year after Abby underwent a multivisceral transplant at Children's.
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