Girl's Life Saved With Unique Heart Surgery At Stanford

PALO ALTO, CA -- Lizneidy Serratos became the smallest person at age 12 to receive the special device to help her heart operate properly, the Stanford Medical Center News Center reported.

When her mother witnessed her daughter struggling to breathe at their Reno home, she thought the smoke that blanketed the Northern Nevada region in August was the cause. But tests said otherwise. Her heart was failing to the point it operated at only 10 percent capacity.

She was saved by heroic behind-the-scenes work by her doctors and nurses, who petitioned the Food and Drug Administration for permission to use a medical device that had not been approved for children and received a "compassionate-use" exemption in 24 hours, the news center added.

Read the full story at http://med.stanford.edu/news/.

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