Scientists from Newcastle advanced therapies were part of a highly specialist team who performed a life saving procedure for the youngest boy in the UK to undergo the operation.
Nine-year-old Archie Routledge had the procedure, called a total pancreatectomy and autologous islet cell transplant, to remove his pancreas and transplant his own insulin producing cells at the same time, at Newcastle Hospitals.
The 15-hour surgery saw Professor Steve White, consultant in hepato-pancreato-biliary and transplant surgeon, lead a team involving paediatric surgeon Liz O’Connor, surgeon Professor Sanjay Pandanaboyana, anaesthetists, pain specialists, psychologists, diabetes specialists, gastroenterologists and scientists.
During the procedure the specialist team removed the pancreas, harvested those insulin-secreting islet cells from the pancreas, then reinfused those cells back into the liver to find a home and help manage blood sugar by producing insulin.
The cells were isolated by scientists from the Trust’s advanced therapies team in specialist GMP – good manufacturing practice – lab facilities at the Centre for Life.
Professor White said: “To help reduce the risk of diabetes, during the operation once we had removed the pancreas, we isolated the islet cells at the Centre for Life. The islets, which produce insulin, were then returned whilst the operation was still underway, and injected into the liver, so Archie can produce some of his own insulin. They will survive for many, many years and help to control Archie’s blood sugar levels.”
He added: “We are quite unique in Newcastle as we have the skills to do many different types of complex transplant operations.”
Archie now takes medicine and is gradually settling back into life at home with his family.
Read the full story which was featured nationally in the Guardian.
