Two Babies, Two Heroic Fathers

Two Babies, Two Heroic Fathers

Two babies who shared the same fate and whose paths crossed in İzmir underwent liver transplantation and began a second life before even reaching their first birthday.

Two babies who shared the same fate and whose paths crossed in İzmir underwent liver transplantation and began a second life before even reaching their first birthday. Eda Nur Tosbıyık, who had cirrhosis because she was born without bile ducts, received liver tissue from her father Canip Tosbıyık at 6 months old, and Zeynep Ekim received liver tissue from her father Cemil Ekim at 4 months old. As the two babies were being discharged, Prof. Dr. Murat Kılıç said: “Neither of our two babies had any chance of survival without a transplant; they were so seriously ill that we could have lost them within days or weeks. Now both they and their families are smiling.”

Because of biliary atresia (absence of the bile ducts), the leading disease behind liver transplantation in babies and children, two more babies developed cirrhosis and found themselves on the operating table.

Eda Nur, the youngest of the three children of Sultan Tosbıyık (33), a housewife living in Uşak, and Canip Tosbıyık (36), a textile worker, was born on 25 July 2019. Little Eda Nur grew more yellow with each passing day, and at the health facilities she was taken to, the jaundice was said to be something that would pass; but when her jaundice still had not gone away at 2.5 months, an ultrasound was performed this time, and it showed that she had no bile ducts. The baby was first referred to Ege University Hospital. After receiving treatment there for about 4 months, the unfortunate baby was taken to İzmir Kent Hospital when a decision for transplantation was made. Little Eda Nur, about 6 months old and weighing 5 kg 100 g, underwent a liver transplant from her father Canip Tosbıyık on 13 February 2020.

ZEYNEP'S HERO IS ALSO HER FATHER

Zeynep, the daughter of Esra Ekim (27), a hairdresser living in the Nazilli district of Aydın, and Cemil Ekim (34), a tradesman, born on 9 December 2019, shared the same fate as Eda Nur. After birth, the jaundice, which was expected to pass as newborn jaundice, did not go away, and her condition grew worse. Zeynep, who was referred from Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Medicine to Ege University Hospital in İzmir, was diagnosed with cirrhosis, and a decision for transplantation was made when she was only 4 months old and weighed 5 kilograms. Baby Zeynep, who was admitted to İzmir Kent Hospital for the transplant, was given life by her father Cemil Ekim on 22 April 2020. The transplant was successful.

The two fathers, who share the same fate both through their daughters and through themselves, said they lay down on the operating table without a moment's hesitation: “May we give our lives for our children.”

Prof. Dr. Murat Kılıç, founding head of Liver Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery at İzmir Kent Hospital, gave the following information about the transplants performed by the team made up of Op. Dr. Cahit Yılmaz, Op. Dr. Rasim Farajov and Op. Dr. Zaza Iakobadze:

“Congenital absence of the bile ducts (biliary atresia) leads to cirrhosis in babies and children. When the liver stops working because of cirrhosis, an organ transplant becomes unavoidable. Biliary atresia is the number one reason for liver transplantation in babies and children. The problem was the same in both babies. For these babies, who were diagnosed with cirrhosis when they were only a few months old, we would have liked them to grow and gain some more weight before the transplant. But neither of them had such a chance. Without a transplant, we would have lost them within days or weeks. Now both are doing well and growing up healthy. Their parents are smiling again as well.”

“WE WERE SO AFRAID OF LOSING HER”

Mother Sultan Tosbıyık, who also has two older daughters, Merve (14) and Buğlem (10), said: “Eda Nur had become the source of joy in our home; but our happiness was short-lived. We were so afraid of losing her. She was slipping out of our hands. Thanks to our doctors' efforts, our little girl has begun a new life. We thank everyone who contributed.”

The couple Esra and Cemil Ekim, who said they had lost their first baby, whom they named Hüseyin, when he was only one week old, said that they are now happy. Mother Ekim said: “We lost our first child because he swallowed meconium during birth. The pain is still fresh and our grief is great. When our daughter was born, we were over the moon; but fears took the place of our joy, and our months were spent in hospitals. We were so afraid we would lose Zeynep too, because her condition was very serious. Now we are happy, but we cannot shake off the fear that something might go wrong. We have left the hard days behind. We thank our doctors very much.”