At birth he weighed only 370 grams: Lorenzo, a "super-feather" child, was saved thanks to a delicate bowel surgery performed at the Milan Polyclinic. The mother, Elena, had presented herself in the fifth month of pregnancy at the hospital in her city, near Milan, because labor had suddenly begun, 16 weeks ahead of time.
When he was born, Lorenzo was so small that he couldn't even cry because his lungs hadn't had time to form. The little boy had also begun to develop a series of complications, including severe intestinal perforation, episodes related to the fact that his organs were still very immature: it was therefore urgent to transfer him to the Milan Polyclinic, which with the Mangiagalli Clinic is a point of reference. for complex cases.
The pediatric surgeons intervened immediately, removing the damaged part of the intestine, repairing the perforation and putting the organ "at rest" to facilitate healing: an operation already complex in itself, but this time made extremely difficult due to the very low weight of Lorenzo and the extremely delicate situation.
"Our hospital - says Ezio Belleri, general director of the Milan Polyclinic - is an international reference center for premature babies and complex pregnancies. At our Mangiagalli Clinic, about 6 thousand children are born every year. If a couple is facing a pregnancy at risk, it is essential to have a center in which the various specialists work in close synergy ".
"His incredible strength to live allowed Lorenzo to brilliantly overcome the infections caused by intestinal perforation - explains Ernesto Leva, director of the Pediatric Surgery of the Polyclinic, who performed the surgery together with Francesco Macchini - and fortunately he did not develop other complications such as cerebral haemorrhages or pulmonary difficulties, typical in these very low weight newborns. A success also due to the work carried out by the neonatologists of our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, led by Fabio Mosca ".
After a few days, Lorenzo's conditions stabilized, his weight increased and it was therefore possible to intervene again to "reactivate" the intestine and restore normal intestinal transit.
