2-year-old Mackenzie Argaet was born with biliary artresia. Her liver developed cirrhosis and she received a liver transplant. Dr Albert Shun, from The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Australia, performed the surgery.
But after inserting a portion of the adult-size liver in the little girl, Dr Shun discovered it was too big and was placing pressure on her blood vessels which could have been fatal.
Having heard about the use of ping-pong balls in operations overseas, he decided to test their suitability in transplant surgery.
“I rang my wife and asked her to go to Big W and buy me some ping-pong balls,” he said.
The balls hold the liver away from the arteries until the swelling from surgery goes down. In Mackenzie’s case, the balls were left inside, and the liver will grow around them.
Unaware she has a foreign object inside her body, little Mackenzie is now running around like every toddler her age.
Her parents Letice Darswell and Guy Argaet are thrilled their daughter is well after she was so seriously ill from birth.
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