A 14-year-old girl has become the first person in the UK to have a dissolvable implant fitted to close a hole in her heart, allowing her to continue pursuing her dream of becoming a professional rugby player.
Lillie Yale, from Warrington, underwent the procedure in June at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool. The biodegradable device, known as Memosorb, acts as a scaffold for the heart to heal itself before fully dissolving and leaving no trace.
How the implant works
The device is used to treat atrial septal defect (ASD), a hole in the wall that divides the two upper chambers of the heart. Memosorb is made of biomedical polymers, commonly used in dissolvable stitches.
Dr Salim Jivanji, consultant paediatric cardiologist at Alder Hey, explained that with a traditional metal device, tissue would start lining the implant, while Memosorb acts as a “scaffold”. He said the body reacts with the structure of the device, slowly covering it with the lining of the heart, while the polymer dissolves into carbon dioxide and water within the tissue and disappears completely.
“I would say in anywhere between six to 24 months the only thing you’ll see is what looks like a normal septum with no hole in it,” Dr Jivanji told the Press Association.
Rugby dream preserved
Lillie faced having a permanent metal device fitted, which would have hindered her dream of becoming a professional rugby player. According to Dr Jivanji, she would not have been able to play rugby with a metal implant due to the risk of it being dislodged by heavy impact before her heart fully healed, as well as the risk of mechanical stress.
However, he said his patient was “determined” to continue with the sport. Alder Hey secured a special licence from the medicines regulator to use Memosorb on Lillie.
Recovery and background
Lillie’s mother, Becci Nichols, 38, said her daughter is “healing perfectly” and has since run a 5k, visited a theme park, and returned to playing rugby. Lillie is now having check-ups every couple of months to monitor her progress.
Ms Nichols said: “She is healing absolutely perfectly. She’s been doing loads. She’s back in her rugby full swing, and she did the Pretty Muddy 5k. She’s been off to Alton Towers, and she’s just getting on with everything now.”
Lillie was diagnosed with ASD soon after being born prematurely at 33 weeks. ASD affects roughly one to two in every 1,000 babies. She had regular check-ups and no symptoms until January 2025, when tests revealed her heart had become enlarged on the right side.
Doctors initially said they would fit Lillie with an implant within two years, but her mother pushed for it to be sooner so the operation did not interrupt her GCSEs. It was only then Lillie was told she would not be able to continue with her sport if she had a traditional metal device.
Ms Nichols said Dr Jivanji and his team “went above and beyond” to allow Lillie to “continue with her normal life”. She added: “Sometimes you can leave an appointment feeling like someone is simply doing their job, but every member of the interventional cardiology team and nurses on ward 1C who cared for Lillie made us feel that they genuinely wanted the very best for her and for our family. Their kindness, compassion and dedication made an enormous difference to us throughout our journey.”
Lillie said: “I’m really happy it’s all done now, and it’s amazing to know I was the first person in the UK to have this new type of implant. I’m enjoying doing the things I love and not having to worry about my heart.”
Dr Jivanji also hailed the “team effort” from his colleagues at Alder Hey, saying: “We constantly do really state-of-the-art kind of cases, but these cases require so much discussion, so much understanding…we advance innovation all the time, and it requires a real big team effort.”
