Turkish surgeon saves toddler with cancer

Razi Canikligil - MIAMI

A Turkish surgeon in Miami has cured a 2-year-old toddler suffering from liver cancer through a successful organ transplant, marking a remarkable achievement.

Noah Langlois was born prematurely at 25 weeks and was diagnosed with liver cancer on his first birthday. The hospital board where he received treatment was not in favor of organ transplantation, knowing that it was too risky for such a small child.

His specialist, Dr. Akın Tekin, a renowned transplant surgeon in the U.S., stated that they did not accept the patient at first for an organ transplant as his general condition, especially his lungs, were ill-conditioned as he was on a respirator for a long time.

“We thought that maybe we could try to remove the tumor by surgery, but both the location and size of it did not allow this. During this period, the embolization method to keep the tumor under control was applied by interventional radiology for the first time in a child of this age and size. As a result, the mass miraculously shrunk and our patient was able to leave the respirator.”

Stressing that they then reevaluated the possibility of liver transplantation and decided to put the patient on the transplantation list, Tekin added that it was a difficult decision as the infant had various other medical problems.

“Although the donor liver was also from a child, we made this transplant by removing some of it and reducing its volume. After continuing chemotherapy for another five months, we discharged Noah fully recovered,” Tekin explained.

Speaking to the U.S. media on the day of Noah’s discharge, mother Michelle Langlois said that thanks to the expertise of the hospital team, her 2-year-old survived cancer and is now ready for the next chapter of his life.