Cork girl, 11, in line for small intestine and colon transplant

Lexie O'Riordan with mum, Sylvia, and dad, Eddie, at Ballyvolane Park, Cork. Pictures: Larry Cummins

A Cork girl has been assessed in a London hospital for a small intestine and colon transplant.

Lexie O’Riordan, 11, from Ballyvolane travelled to King’s College Hospital in London last week to undergo a series of tests in an assessment to establish if she will be able to undergo the rare surgery.

Her mum, Sylvia, said that such a procedure would prolong her life.

Lexie is currently the only person in Ireland known to have Microvillus Inclusion Disease (MID), a genetic disease that claimed the life of her sister Hollie at the age of 13 months in 2005. She died of liver failure before being able to get a transplant.

MID is an extremely rare intestinal disorder that results in the intestinal wall not being properly developed. Lexie is fed through a line for 17 hours every day and is currently doing well.

Sylvia says: “It is a very hard decision to put a well-enough child on a transplant list that could make her very ill. She gets fed 17 hours of a 24-hour day and it is taking a toll on her.” 

But she adds: “Infection of the line is a big risk because that is her lifeline.” 

Lexie has had a number of procedures in her life, including the insertion of a shunt in Temple Street Hospital in Dublin.

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Sylvia says: “She hates needles, but other than that, she just gets on with every appointment, every hospital stay.” 

However, the transplant would be the most serious and lengthy surgery of her life to date. The family has been told that the transplant procedure could take between seven and nine hours, with a three-month recovery in the UK afterwards.

Learning to eat

It is hoped that she will be able to eat normally following the transplant — something she cannot currently do.

Sylvia says: “She licks for flavour — like chilli heatwave Doritos, and soya sauce on prawn crackers. Swallowing will be a huge thing after the operation. She will be learning to eat.” 

She says such a transplant is unusual

“They have done 35 of them in the hospital. Unfortunately some child has to die to save her,” Sylvia says.

At the moment, Lexie is fed through a line. It is hoped she could eat normal food if she gets a transplant.

Six of the patients who underwent the same surgery in King’s College Hospital had the same condition as Lexie.

Sylvia says that Hollie was also awaiting a transplant when she died in 2005, adding: “She didn’t get the chance.” 

Sylvia and her husband Eddie can see big advances in medicine in the years since Hollie’s death and are grateful that Lexie is currently doing well.

However, Sylvia says that in order to thrive and grow, Lexie requires the transplant.

She is currently in fifth class in Scoil Oilibheir in Ballyvolane and has many great friends there, says her mum.

She adds that the support of staff in the school has been vital for Lexie and her family, which also includes her older brother Charlie.

She is currently recovering from a hairline fracture which she sustained in her wrist in recent weeks.