Eight-year-old Turkish child undergoes 70 rounds of surgery in five years

BURSA

An eight-year-old child had to undergo 70 rounds of surgery over five years after drinking cleaning material that he found in the bathroom when he was three years old. 

Kayra Yaman’s internal organs were severely damaged after he drank the liquid and he is being fed with a special device despite all operations that he has since gone through, 40 of which were in the U.S. 

When Yaman was first hospitalized five years ago, doctors told the family that he had no chance of surviving, Anadolu Agency reported. As part of attempted treatment, part of his stomach was removed and he underwent operations in his mouth, kidneys and several other organs.

His mother Ayşen Karakaş said her son received treatment in the U.S. for more than a year, and a new gullet was made from his large intestines. She added that his body had accepted the gullet up to the stomach, but he continues to suffer from problems when eating, including the food going into his lungs. 

“This causes Kayra really big problems. He shouldn’t eat any food with his mouth anymore, as the doctors told us that he could lose his lungs if this continues,” Karakaş said. 

Saying that her son gained 11 kilos while receiving treatment in the U.S., she added that he will now undergo surgery in Ankara once every month in order to enlarge his throat. The family will then go to the U.S. once again in six months or a year. 

Yaman, who received treatment in the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, will also undergo surgery at New York Boston Harvard University. 

“Kayra is attached to a machine. He feeds from it 18 hours a day. He cannot move, play or go out. I don’t want my son to undergo any more surgery, but he will probably have to undergo 15 or 20 rounds of surgery,” his mother said, while his father appealed for donations in support.