Listen to this articleIn Roslyn, St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center and Gift of Life continued its 50-year partnership to provide life-changing heart surgery, saving 11-year-old Brilliant Phillipah. The child had traveled from Uganda for a critical medical procedure. With this procedure, Gift of Life has helped 50,000 patients.
Thanks to support from Gift of Life, Phillipah traveled to Long Island so that on Sept. 4, she could have surgery at St. Francis to fix a large patent ductus arteriosus—an opening between the two main blood vessels leading from the heart that should close at birth, according to St. Francis Hospital, whose team volunteered its services.
Doctors say that for Phillipah, the opening between the blood vessels grew, rather than close, causing her heart to work 50% harder than it should, according to St. Francis, which is part of the Catholic Health system. This condition typically results in challenges with growth and development, as well as increased susceptibility to life-threatening pneumonia and illnesses.
This heart defect, however, is relatively common and, according to Catholic Health, has been rectified through open-heart surgery. At St. Francis, Dr. Sean Levchuck, chair of Pediatric Cardiology, performed a minimally invasive procedure, using a catheter to guide a device to close the ductus arteriosus. Levchuck has performed these procedures for nearly 30 years. After the procedure, Phillipah recovered at St. Francis.
“Our heart specialists are among the very best in the world,” Dr. Patrick O’Shaughnessy, CEO and president of Catholic Health, said in a news release about the surgery. “So, when we learn that a child in a faraway place needs our expertise, we volunteer our services. To see them smile right after the procedure, and to know they will return to their homeland to live a long and healthy life, is the greatest reward.”
The Gift of Life is a global program that has helped children from more than 80 countries. Its very first patient received surgery in 1975 at St. Francis Hospital.
In Roslyn, Levchuck, who is one of many physicians who donate time and services to treat congenital disorders, spoke of the program’s rewards.
“I know I speak for the whole team when I say how honored we are to have cared for Brilliant,” Levchuck said in the news release. “Long term, were this defect not corrected, she likely would have developed something called pulmonary hypertension, which is deadly. It’s been a blessing to help give her an opportunity to live a long, healthy life.”
Phillipah’s mother, Bridget Nakazibwe accompanied her child to New York.
“I’m so grateful to St. Francis Hospital and Gift of Life,” Nakazibwe said in the news release.
St. Francis Hospital President Dr. Charles Lucore said the partnership with Gift of Life remains strong.
“In parts of the world where children do not have access to this specialized care, we welcome the opportunity to invite them here so we can provide the advanced cardiovascular care we are known for,” Lucore said.
Gift of Life International President Robbie Donno said the program had reached a milestone.
“Fifty years ago, our first Gift of Life patient was a young girl from Uganda, who was also cared for by the team at St. Francis Hospital,” Donno said in the news release. “This is a full-circle moment for our organization. We are extremely thrilled for our patients and their families, and grateful to the St. Francis team for caring for these children.”
As LIBN reported in August, a film produced by Edgewood-based LGC Studios about Donno,“The Garbage Man, A Life Worth Living,” is an Emmy-nominee in the Human Interest – Long Form Content category.