A seven-year-old boy has become the first child in the United Kingdom to undergo a rare heart procedure that saved his life. Elliot Atkins, from Colchester, Essex, was diagnosed with middle aortic syndrome, a condition that narrows the body's main blood vessel and the vessels supplying blood to the kidneys. His parents were told he was unlikely to survive heart failure and another serious condition.
First Child in the UK to Have Angioplasty
Specialists at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital decided to perform an angioplasty, a procedure that uses a balloon to widen blood vessels near the heart. This made Elliot strong enough to undergo a vital operation. Nearly a year later, Elliot is loving life and training for his school sports day. His mother, Amy Govier, 29, said: 'He is running around with his friends and happy. He is very excited for sports day – he's just a bundle of joy, he always tries to make people laugh.'
Early Signs and Diagnosis
Elliot's parents, Amy and Thomas Atkins, 29, first noticed something was wrong when Elliot was 11 months old. After a chest infection, he struggled to breathe, and a scan revealed his heart was enlarged. Further tests showed he was in heart failure, had dangerously high blood pressure, and a narrowed aorta. He was later diagnosed with middle aortic syndrome at Great Ormond Street, where medics suggested trying an angioplasty.
Thomas, a military medic, said the anxiety of Elliot being the first child in the UK to have the rare procedure left them feeling 'at a loss.' He added: 'We couldn't Google anything to reassure ourselves that this was going to be okay. There was stuff on angioplasty, sure, but the patient pool was much, much older.'
Six Angioplasty Procedures and Complex Surgery
Elliot underwent six angioplasty procedures, which made him strong enough to withstand an aortic bypass graft with a transplant of a single kidney. The complex surgery created a new route for blood flow around the narrowed section of his aorta artery, improving blood supply and blood pressure. The operation took place last July, and Elliot continues to improve. Amy said: 'He's running around happy and can keep up with his friends. He just knows he's got this scar on his tummy, and that's it.'
Impact on Other Children
Since Elliot's first angioplasty in 2020, the teams at Great Ormond Street have performed the procedure on other children with heart failure. Dr. Jelena Stojanovic, Elliot's clinician and lead for the kidney transplant and renovascular service, said: 'This is a very rare condition, and the numbers on its own will be small, but what is important is that the children can be offered the chance to survive. When we as a team look at him today, we see a child who has been given an opportunity that simply would have not existed without the treatment and the extraordinary efforts of the teams involved in his care.'
