A seven-year-old boy's life has been saved after he became the first child in the UK to undergo an angioplasty for heart failure, a procedure typically reserved for adults. Elliot Atkins was diagnosed with heart failure and a rare condition called middle aortic syndrome, with doctors warning his parents that without intervention, he was unlikely to survive.
Breakthrough at Great Ormond Street Hospital
Medics at Great Ormond Street Hospital (Gosh) decided to perform an angioplasty to improve Elliot's blood flow and make him strong enough for life-saving surgery. The procedure, which involves inflating a small balloon in narrowed blood vessels, reversed his heart failure, a condition previously considered irreversible in such cases. Gosh confirmed that this enabled Elliot to receive a vital operation, marking a UK first for children with heart failure.
A Rare Condition
Elliot's parents, Amy Govier and Thomas Atkins, both 29, first noticed something was wrong when he was 11 months old. After a chest infection, he struggled to breathe, and scans revealed an enlarged heart and dangerously high blood pressure. Further tests at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children showed his aorta was narrowed, leading to a diagnosis of middle aortic syndrome, which restricts blood flow and strains the heart, kidneys, brain, and eyes.
Elliot was referred to Gosh, where doctors considered placing him on palliative care. Instead, his medical team proposed a never-before-performed intervention in children with heart failure: a series of angioplasties.
Innovative Treatment
While angioplasty is routine in adults, it had not been tried in children with severe heart failure. Over six procedures by age two, the angioplasties widened Elliot's blood vessels, improved blood pressure control, and strengthened his heart. This allowed him to undergo a complex aortic bypass graft and kidney transplant last July, creating a new route for blood flow and relocating his kidney.
His mother, Amy Govier, said: "All of the angioplasties led up to a big surgery that he had July last year, which he wouldn't have made it to without the angioplasties. Now he's running around happy, can keep up with his friends." She added that Elliot is training for his school sports day and is "a bundle of joy."
Global Impact
Since Elliot's first angioplasty in 2020, Gosh teams have performed similar procedures for other children with heart failure. Dr Jelena Stojanovic, Elliot's clinician, said: "Following Elliot's intervention, we have successfully performed this intervention over several other children who refer to us not only from other centres in the UK but also from abroad. This is a very rare condition, but what is important is that children can be offered the chance to survive."
Elliot, who lives in Colchester, Essex, with his parents and sister Miya, is now thriving. Dr Stojanovic added: "He's doing remarkably well, taking fewer medications, his quality of life has improved significantly, and he's back to doing activities every child his age should enjoy."
