Chinese mother who defied doctors has lung transplant, heart surgery 11 days after giving birth
Woman with congenital condition was warned not to proceed with pregnancy, and surgeon says he carried out high-risk operations with ‘heavy heart’
A 42-year-old woman who ignored doctors’ warnings that she had “zero” chance of surviving childbirth is recovering at home in eastern China after having a lung transplant and heart surgery just 11 days after her baby boy was born.
Wu Meng left the hospital in Wuxi, Jiangsu province with her newborn on Friday last week, two months after she gave birth, according to Science and Technology Daily.
In a rare and high-profile case, the reporter – who has a congenital heart condition and relies on a ventilator – was told she would not live for more than four years when she was diagnosed five years ago, according to the report on Wednesday.
After writing a book about her illness, Wu documented her pregnancy online, gave media interviews about her case and told followers that her success would inspire other women like her.
While her supporters have hailed the case as a miracle, a surgeon at the hospital said he had performed the high-risk operations with “a heavy heart” and advised others with Eisenmenger’s syndrome – in which there is a hole between two chambers of the heart – not to put their lives in danger in the same way.
