Care and surgery
Training and skills transfer
Building and equipping hospitals
Prevention and screening
Emergencies and humanitarian crises
Maternal health
A successful operation for little Leïla!
In January 2024, we shared with you the case of 5-year-old Leïla. Born in East Africa - in Djibouti to be precise - the little girl, motherless, was suffering from a serious congenital umbilical hernia. Her only option was to be transferred to France for emergency surgery!
” She’s a lovely little girl, very endearing, curious, who loves to laugh and dance…”. This is how Leïla is remembered by the Meurier family, who took care of her during her few weeks of convalescence in France.
Originally from Djibouti, Leïla did not have an easy start in life. Her mother died during childbirth. And, from her very first months, the first signs of an omphalocele– a lack of closure of the abdominal wall – appeared. Until she was five, it was difficult for her not only to eat, but also to grow normally, as the abdominal pain was so severe.
Without the means to provide life-saving surgery, his father and grandmother were desperate.
But thanks to your mobilization, Leïla was transferred to France to be operated on by Dr. Maud Chabaud, a pediatric surgeon at the Trousseau Hospital in Paris. Today, the little girl has regained her strength (and even a few kilos!). She has been reunited with her family and is preparing for her first day back at school!
Thank you for answering our call and changing little Leïla’s life!
“His liver and intestine were not retained by the abdominal wall. Strangulation of his hernia could therefore have been fatal. Surgery was essential. According to her records, Leila had been operated on as a baby in her own country, but the sutures or techniques used were not sufficient. Now, with this new operation and the follow-up carried out during her convalescence, she can start life again with peace of mind.”
