Syrian refugee baby finds hope at Sheba
A three-day-old baby born to Syrian refugee parents in Cyprus was flown to Israel last month for a life-saving operation at Sheba Medical Center.
A special medically-equipped plane brought the newborn to Israel after the Cypriot Health Ministry made contact with the Israeli Ambassador to Cyprus, Mr. Sammy Revel, in an urgent plea to fly the baby to Israel for medical treatment after being born with a severe heart defect.
Dr. David Mishali, head of the Department of Pediatric and Congenital Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital, explained, “The newborn baby boy with a serious and complicated congenital heart defect was brought to the hospital from Cyprus. It was not clear to us if he needed an operation or could be stabilized with proper treatment without the need for surgery.”
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in coordination with Israeli security services and Ben-Gurion Airport officials, approached Interior Minister Aryeh Deri to obtain permission for the baby and his father, a Syrian national, to enter the country. The baby was admitted to Sheba Medical Center's neonatal intensive care unit ahead of an emergency operation.
After monitoring the situation closely, it was decided that an operation was not needed. Dr. Mishali related, “We were able to substantially improve his pulmonary blood flow, which resulted in a quick improvement in his condition. After a period of recovery, we released him from the hospital.”
The baby is scheduled to return to Sheba when he is 6 months (plus) old in order to finish the treatment for his condition. This is by no means the first time that Sheba has offered emergency treatment to patients from around the world. Dr. Mishali explained, “We constantly receive patients from all over the world who suffer from some of the most complex congenital heart defects and are in need of the specific and specialized care that our special children's emergency cardiac care & surgical facility can provide.
