A doctor who treated the baby who became the youngest recipient of a liver transplant has expressed concern that her parents credited a chance discovery on the Internet to her having the surgery in London. Prof Brendan Drumm, consultant paediatric gastroenterologist at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Dublin, said other parents who had lost children from similar conditions might feel they could have saved them by conducting their own research. "This statement has the potential to be extremely disturbing for the families of children who have died of severe liver disease or for those who presently have an ill child," he said.
Baebhen Schuttke was five months when surgeons at King's College Hospital in London performed a liver transplant using a new technique. In London this week, her parents said that when the baby was born in Dublin in July she developed liver problems.
At two days she was diagnosed with neo-natal haemochromatosis, from which her two brothers, Lucas and Reuben, died. Last night her father, Mr Jurgen Schuttke, said the transfer to London was arranged by the liver unit at Crumlin. They used the Internet to discover more about their daughter's condition and treatment.
"Crumlin played a significant role, as did Holles Street hospital where our daughter was born. We researched the problem on the Internet and used it for electronic messaging contacting other doctors, but really the transplant was beyond our scope," he said.
Prof Drumm said the family had close contact with the liver unit at Crumlin hospital over a number of years. The team at the hospital was delighted at the success of the surgery but disturbed at the impression it had happened because of information found on the Internet.
"The medical team at this hospital have worked very closely with this family from when their first baby died and with the transplant unit in King's College . . . we see the baby regularly for check-ups." When Baebhen was born, the unit was able to diagnose the condition immediately.
The transplant co-ordinator was in contact with King's College and the Department of Health had "very helpfully" agreed to fund the surgery. "When the third child was born we were clearly aware of what to look for."