COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – An 11-year-old girl in Colorado is now able to live a healthier life after the Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora was able to perform the region’s first dual heart and liver transplant.
Gracie was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, causing her heart to have only one chamber pumping blood into her body. Before three years old, the hospital said she already had to have three surgeries. While those surgeries allowed her heart to function, they said there could still be long-term effects to the heart defect, including liver dysfunction and liver failure due to how the defect and treatments affected her other organs.
The hospital said care teams have been preparing for years to perform a dual heart and liver transplant, allowing them to be ready when the need arises…