26-05-2025
'Groundbreaking' surgery performed on girl born with heart outside body in Leicester
This article and video report contains an image of Vanellope's heart on the outside of her body
A young girl has had groundbreaking surgery in Leicester after she was born with her heart on the outside of her body.
Vanellope Hope Wilkins, now seven, was born with a condition called Ectopia Cordis - in which the heart is abnormally located either partially or totally outside of the chest.
Described as a 'miracle baby', she was delivered by caesarian section at the city's Glenfield Hospital in November 2017.
She survived childhood and is thought to be the first baby in Britain to survive the ultra-rare condition.
She beat eight-million-to-one odds to survive, spending her first year in intensive care before being able to leave hospital.
Seven years on, Vanellope has undergone a groundbreaking operation at Leicester's Royal Infirmary to protect her fragile heart - by reconstructing a protective cage around it - using her ribs.
It has been years in the making, and it is the first time it has ever been performed in the UK.
Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at Leicester Children's Hospital, Nitin Patwardhan, added: 'Being able to perform a groundbreaking surgery, which has never been done before in the UK, is important for our patients and for the hospital. Our teams do incredible work every single day, and this procedure is another example of this.
'Vanellope is a one-of-a-kind case and I am proud that we have been able to work together to improve her quality of life. We wish her a speedy recovery and all the best for the future.'
During the operation, Vanellope was put onto a heart-lung machine called an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine - a medical device that temporarily takes over the functions of the heart and lungs.
The procedure involved a joint team from the EMCHC and Leicester Children's Hospital totalling around 20 people, including anaesthetists, surgeons, operating department practitioners, perfusionists and theatre nurses.
Vanellope is now at home and recovering - with surgeons hoping the first-of-its-kind surgery will allow her to live a more fulfilled life.
