Most moo-ving medical story of the year

LITTLE Jamie Goodier faced death after being born with two heart valves missing . . . but doctors had UDDER ideas.

His heart had already stopped once - and tearful parents Rebecca and Stephen were convinced they'd lose their precious baby son at just six months old.

But in an astonishing seven-hour operation surgeons rebuilt Jamie's ticker with tissue taken from a COW - and saved his life. "When they said what they were going to do we were totally shocked," says Rebecca, 26. "But we just wanted to save him - and if it took part of a cow to do it then fine, whatever helped Jamie survive."

Fatal

It was the youngster's last chance after an agonising start to life. Jamie had been born with Down's Syndrome. But Rebecca and partner Stephen, 27, were simply overjoyed he was alive. However, the worst was to come. Tests revealed Jamie had a life-threatening abnormality called atrioventricular septal defect. His heart had only two valves instead of four so it struggled to pump blood around his body.

Rebecca says: "It was devastating news. Doctors told us it could be fatal and he would need surgery as soon as he was strong enough to cope."

So the couple, from Winsford, Cheshire, took their baby son home and waited on tenterhooks for him to grow stronger. But at four weeks old Jamie turned blue and had to be put on a ventilator and pumped with drugs to keep him alive.

The family's biggest scare came when his heart stopped and doctors had to restart it. It was touch and go. We were terrified we'd lose him," says Rebecca.

But five months of tender care made him strong enough for surgery at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.

And it was then doctors told his mum and dad they were going to perform a TRIPE-le bypass. They used tissue from around a cow's heart to repair the missing main wall in Jamie's before splitting his two valves into the four he needed.

Rare

Cardiac surgeon Nelson Alphonso said: "This was a very unusual case. We used a plastic band on one of Jamie's main arteries to restrict blood flow to the lungs. That allowed his condition to improve until he was strong enough for the operation "

Now 21 months old, Jamie has gone from strength to strength. "He's a lovely healthy colour and he's full of energy," says Rebecca.

News of the World GP Dr Hilary Jones said: "Animal tissue is very similar to human tissue. To prevent rejection they coat it with chemicals and the patient's own cells grow over the top of it. It undoubtedly saved Jamie's life."

Rebecca adds: "It is strange to look at him and think he has part of a cow inside him, keeping him alive. But one day when he's old enough I will tell him how it saved his life."

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