Key points
- Artem from Donetsk region suffered from a rare non-immune haemolytic anaemia, which caused his spleen to enlarge almost threefold.
- The boy was born at 37 weeks by caesarean section and required immediate hospitalisation after birth due to a drop in haemoglobin and elevated bilirubin.
- After moving to Ternopil region, Artem’s condition worsened due to viral hepatitis.
- Doctors at the St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital in Lviv stabilised the boy’s condition and performed a laparoscopic splenectomy.
- After the operation, the boy’s condition is stable: haemoglobin levels have normalised and his skin has a healthy colour.
At the St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital in Lviv, doctors successfully performed a splenectomy on three-year-old Artem from Donetsk. The boy suffered from a rare non-immune haemolytic anaemia, which caused his spleen to reach 17 cm in length – nearly three times the normal size – compressing internal organs and making breathing and movement difficult.
Artem was born in Dobropillia at 37 weeks via caesarean section. Immediately after birth, his haemoglobin dropped critically and his bilirubin levels rose, so he was urgently hospitalised in Dnipro.
For Artem’s mother, this was a terrifying déjà vu, as her first child had died a few hours after birth with similar indicators. Fortunately, doctors in Dnipro were able to save Artem.
– St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital.
About 2.5 months after discharge, the boy’s condition worsened again: his skin and the whites of his eyes turned yellow, and his haemoglobin dropped sharply.
Doctors diagnosed him with a rare non-immune haemolytic anaemia, which occurs in roughly one in 5,000 children. Due to the disease, red blood cells are abnormally shaped, the spleen continuously destroys them, and gradually enlarges.
According to the doctors, this process cannot be stopped with any medication. The only solution is to remove the spleen. While Artem was too young for such a radical operation, he received monthly donor blood transfusions.
In 2024, the family moved to Ternopil region after their house in Dobropillia was destroyed by a Russian shelling. There, Artem contracted viral hepatitis due to being unable to receive timely vaccination at birth, which further complicated his liver condition.
I started noticing that my child’s urine had turned red. I panicked, thinking there was suddenly bleeding. Overnight, he turned such a yellow colour that it was clear this wasn’t just a drop in haemoglobin, it was something completely different. I urgently took him to the hospital.
– Artem’s mother.
Due to a sharp deterioration in Artem’s health, he was transferred to Lviv.
He arrived in a very serious condition: bilirubin 450–500, haemoglobin 60 with a normal level of 110. Artem experienced a haemolytic crisis – a condition in which a large number of red blood cells are destroyed simultaneously, and the body responds with an immune reaction.
– Medical Director Oleksandr Kalinchuk.
Hematologists managed to stabilise the boy’s condition, prepare him for surgery, and carry out the necessary vaccinations.
To minimise trauma, surgeons performed a laparoscopic splenectomy – the removal of the spleen.
Artem is now 3.5 years old: his skin has a healthy colour, haemoglobin levels have stabilised, and he is developing like a normal child.
Read also:
In Lviv, doctors restored 4 cm of bone to a 4-year-old girl after severe osteomyelitis
