According to her mother, Eva Tennent's case is now "inoperable". The 10-year-old British girl has Rett syndrome and is now suffering from irreversible after-effects after her spinal operation was postponed seven times, the BBC revealed this Wednesday March 27.
Rett syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that affects brain development and can cause bone deformities, such as scoliosis. Young Eva consequently suffers from advanced scoliosis. The curvature of his spine was 60.89 degrees in May 2022, increased to 107.9 degrees last year and is currently 110 degrees, according to his mother, Jill Lockhart.
“I can’t get an explanation.”
“They waited so long, and now they say it’s too late. I have the impression that my daughter's chances of survival have been sacrificed,” the mother told the BBC. “We were told last week that the operation could take place on March 28. Today, we are told that it is inoperable and I cannot get an explanation from the hospital as to why the situation changed so quickly,” laments Jill Lockhart.
Eva Tennent could “live another 15 to 30 years” thanks to this spinal operation. “Without it, she risks dying,” maintains her mother. Her operation at Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, was postponed three times due to staff shortages and four more times due to the little girl's breathing difficulties. For Jill Lockhart, these problems were a consequence of previous postponements because the significant curvature of her spine puts pressure on her vital organs.
The surgeon in charge of the operation suspended
An investigation carried out by the BBC in 2023 revealed that understaffing within the Scottish healthcare structure was leading to wait times three times longer than before the pandemic for spinal operations. But the British media also discovered that one of the pediatric surgeons at the establishment, responsible for monitoring Eva, had been suspended.
The girl's family was informed in mid-March by the hospital that the doctor would no longer take care of her, without any reason being communicated to them to justify this change. “If a practitioner was unable to practice for any reason, patients and their families would be informed of the impact of this absence on their care and their case would be assigned to another surgeon as soon as possible - particularly if their condition implies it,” says the local agency of the NHS, the British public health organization.