Canton infant gets rare double-lung transplant

CANTON (AP) — An Ohio infant born with a genetic condition that affects just one in every million babies has undergone a rare double-lung transplant.

Eight-month-old Elliana Joy White was home for Christmas in Plain Township in Stark County after the operation, which has been performed less than 50 times in the last 15 years.

“We’re thrilled that we came this far,” said Gina White, Elliana’s mother.

Elliana, born in April, couldn’t breathe on her own. Doctors found that she had a protein deficiency for which there is no treatment or cure.

Surgeons at St. Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri, who have the most experience with the surgery, performed the transplant. A Philadelphia donor’s lungs were placed into Elliana’s chest in August.

But Elliana and her family waited in St. Louis for several months for a donor to appear. Meanwhile, tubes and ventilators kept Elliana alive.

Elliana’s father, Rob White, returned to Ohio at the end of the summer to resume his assistant high school principal job. Gina White, meanwhile, took a leave of absence from her teaching job.

Doctors kept Elliana isolated for several weeks after the Aug. 15 operation and only recently removed her from a ventilator. She was allowed last month to join her parents and twin brother in an apartment near the hospital.

The family returned to Ohio this week to a home that’s been customized to reduce bacteria. Carpeting has been replaced with laminated floors, an air filtration system was installed and the basement treated to prevent mold.

Every three months for the next two years, Elliana will return to St. Louis for checkups. For now, she’s gaining weight — close to 12 pounds — and doctors are monitoring her and periodically adjusting her medication.