Life-saving operation: Boy with severe abdominal wall cleft successfully treated at Magdeburg University Hospital
10-year-old Omar from Afghanistan suffered from a giant omphalocele, in which vital organs were located outside the abdominal cavity. Specialists at Magdeburg University Hospital successfully performed an operation and moved the organs back into the abdominal cavity.
In April of this year, University Medicine Magdeburg performed the first operation on Omar under the direction of Dr Salmai Turial, Head of the Department of Paediatric Surgery, Paediatric Traumatology and Paediatric Urology, and Prof. Roland S. Croner, Director of the Department of General, Visceral, Vascular and Transplant Surgery. Using state-of-the-art technology, the prolapsed organs were repositioned in the abdominal cavity and the abdominal wall was successfully closed. Omar recovered well from the operation. In two further operations, excess skin was removed and a new navel was reconstructed so that Omar's abdomen now has a largely normal appearance.
From birth, Omar suffered from a malformation in which vital organs, including the entire liver, parts of the stomach and the small and large intestines, were located outside the abdominal cavity in an omphaloceles sac. A life-saving operation, which would have been necessary immediately after the birth, could not be performed due to the war situation and the lack of medical infrastructure in Afghanistan. Omar's family also did not have the financial means to seek treatment in neighbouring countries, as is usual in such cases.
Photo: (from left) Privatdozent Dr Salmai Turial, Head of the Department of Paediatric Surgery, Paediatric Traumatology and Paediatric Urology at Magdeburg University Hospital, Ahmadzai foster family, Omar, Rona Nawabi, Prof. Dr Roland S. Croner, Director of the Department of General, Visceral, Vascular and Transplant Surgery at Magdeburg University Hospital. Photographer: Sarah Kossmann/UMMD
Despite these adverse circumstances and an uncertain prognosis, Omar developed into a bright, cheerful boy. Thanks to his irrepressible will to survive, he reached the age of 10 - against all expectations.
The German association ‘Kinder brauchen uns (KBU) e.V.’, which has been supporting Afghan children who are unable to receive medical help in their home country for 22 years, became aware of Omar's case. During a visit to Kabul, association chairman Markus Dewender (volunteer) learned of Omar's situation and organised the boy's transfer to Germany for the urgently needed operation. Rona Nawabi, volunteer team leader at KBU, coordinated the next steps in Germany and contacted private lecturer Salmai Turial, who presented the case to the hospital board. Magdeburg University Hospital covered the costs of the operations and the entire treatment.
During his stay in Germany, Omar was lovingly cared for by a foster family from his native Afghanistan, who offered him a familiar environment both linguistically and culturally. His treatment has now been successfully completed and it is planned that Omar will return to his parents in Afghanistan in November this year.
University Medicine Magdeburg is grateful to have been part of this successful treatment and thanks all those involved in Omar's recovery.
Photo: (from left) Privatdozent Dr Salmai Turial, Head of the Department of Paediatric Surgery, Paediatric Traumatology and Paediatric Urology at Magdeburg University Hospital, Ahmadzai foster family, Omar, Rona Nawabi, Prof. Dr Roland S. Croner, Director of the Department of General, Visceral, Vascular and Transplant Surgery at Magdeburg University Hospital. Photographer: Sarah Kossmann/UMMD
Despite these adverse circumstances and an uncertain prognosis, Omar developed into a bright, cheerful boy. Thanks to his irrepressible will to survive, he reached the age of 10 - against all expectations.
The German organisation ‘Kinder brauchen uns (KBU) e.V.’, which has been supporting Afghan children who are unable to receive medical help in their home country for 22 years, became aware of Omar's case. During a visit to Kabul, association chairman Markus Dewender (volunteer) learned about Omar's situation and organised the boy's transfer to Germany for an urgently needed operation. Rona Nawabi, volunteer team leader at KBU, coordinated the next steps in Germany and contacted private lecturer Salmai Turial, who presented the case to the hospital board. Magdeburg University Hospital covered the costs of the operations and the entire treatment.
During his stay in Germany, Omar was lovingly cared for by a foster family from his home country of Afghanistan, who gave him both linguistic and psychological support.