Two-day old Emirati survives emergency surgery for rare condition

The girl was born with twisted ovaries - the third reported case of it's kind worldwide

Pediatric Surgeon Dr Raja performs surgery on baby Alanoud. Courtesy Danat Al Emarat Hospital

A two-day old Emirati girl has been saved by surgeons at an Abu Dhabi hospital after being born with twisted ovaries.

The case is the third of its kind worldwide and was caused by a large twisted ovarian cyst.

On December 20, baby Alanoud Ismail underwent a three-hour laparoscopic surgery at Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women and Children where her ovaries were restored to their normal position and two cysts were removed.

Two months later, Alanoud is fully recovered.

“After surgery, my daughter stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit for five days,” her father said.

“We will visit the paediatrics clinic in the hospital every few months for general follow ups”.

Dr Raja Cingapagu, the leading paediatric surgeon for Alanoud’s operation said the condition was spotted during routine tests.

“The girl was born after 35 weeks of pregnancy and tests revealed she suffered from ovarian torsion and bleeding due to large ovarian cysts in both ovaries.

“The cysts were sized more than 5cm in diameter despite the ovary usually not being more than 1cm in diameter at this age.

“We had to perform a laparoscopic surgery, during which the cyst was removed from each ovary and both ovaries were untwisted to their normal position."

He said any delays in performing the surgery would have caused complications for the girl in future and otherwise cost her her life.

“Performing the surgery in the right time was essential for saving the life of the girl while keeping the ovaries intact without any complications and without effecting the organs.”

Dr Cingapagu said the case, whereby both ovaries twisted simultaneously, was very rare and is considered life-threatening if not treated in time.

The first published case was in 1982 in the US but the girl did not survive. A second case was reported in Europe last year but details were not disclosed.