Listen to this articleIn Roslyn, St. Francis Hospital and Heart Center and Gift of Life continued their 50-year partnership by providing a life-changing heart surgery to help 11-year-old Brilliant Phillipa, who traveled from Uganda for a critical medical procedure that helped Gift of Life reach 50,000 patients.
Thanks to Gift of Life’s support, Phillipa was able to travel to Long Island and undergo surgery at St. Francis on September 4 to correct a large patent ductus arteriosus, an opening between two major blood vessels coming from the heart that should close at birth, according to St. Francis Hospital, whose team volunteered to help with the surgery.
According to St. Francis, which is part of the Catholic health system, doctors say Philippa’s blood vessels widen instead of close, causing her heart to work 50 percent harder than normal, which can lead to problems with growth and development and make her more susceptible to life-threatening pneumonia and other diseases.
But the heart defect is relatively common and has been fixed with open-heart surgery, according to Catholic Health. At St. Francis, Dr. Shawn Lebchuk, chief of pediatric cardiology, performed the minimally invasive procedure, using a catheter to guide a device that closes the ductus arteriosus. Dr. Lebchuk has been performing this procedure for nearly 30 years. After the surgery, Phillipa recovered at St. Francis.
“Our cardiologists are among the best in the world,” Dr. Patrick O’Shaughnessy, CEO and president of Catholic Health, said in a news release about the procedure, “so when we find a child in a far-flung location who needs our expertise, we volunteer to help. Seeing a child’s smile right after surgery and knowing they can return to their hometown and live a long, healthy life is the best reward.”
Gift of Life is a global program that has helped children in over 80 countries. The first patient was operated on at St. Francis Hospital in 1975.
Lebchuk, one of many doctors in Roslyn who dedicates his time and services to treating congenital disorders, spoke about the program’s success.
“Our team is proud of the care we received from Brilliant,” Lebchak said in a news release. “In the long term, if we had not corrected this defect, Brilliant would likely have developed a fatal disease called pulmonary hypertension. We are truly grateful that we were able to give Brilliant the opportunity to live a long, healthy life.”
Philippa’s mother, Bridget Nakazibwe, accompanied her child to New York.
“We are so grateful to St. Francis Hospital and Gift of Life,” Nakazibwe said in a news release.
St. Francis Hospital President Charles Lucore said the partnership with Gift of Life remains strong.
“In parts of the world where children don’t have access to this specialized care, we welcome the opportunity to bring them here and provide the advanced cardiovascular care that we are known for,” Lucore said.
Robbie Dono, president of Gift of Life International, said the program has been a breakthrough.
“Fifty years ago, our first Gift of Life patient was a little girl from Uganda who was also cared for by the team at St. Francis Hospital,” Dono said in a news release. “This is a full-circle moment for our organization. We are incredibly excited for our patients and their families, and we are grateful to the team at St. Francis for caring for these children.”
As LIBN reported in August, a film about Dono produced by Edgewood-based LGC Studios, “Garbage Man: A Life Worth Living,” was nominated for an Emmy in the Human Interest (Long Form) category.
