The health condition of 15-year-old Dimitris is improving after he underwent liver transplantation last Thursday, following severe heatstroke he suffered during a hiking trip in Metsovo.
Read: 15-year-old Dimitris extubated and communicating – “Likely to be discharged in one month”
The teenager remains at Le Molinette hospital in Turin, which announced that: “15-year-old Dimitris has been extubated and is communicating with his environment.” Meanwhile, Italian doctors reported that “the recovery of graft functionality was particularly rapid” and that “thanks to the intervention, which lasted a total of ten hours, the patient’s death from liver failure was avoided.” It appears the 15-year-old will be able to be discharged in about a week, provided there are no complications.
Metsovo: 15-year-old’s temperature reached 42°C during heatstroke – rare case
The Italian surgeon who operated on him spoke to the Italian news agency ANSA about this rare case, providing details about how the teenager suffered heatstroke and ended up needing transplantation.
According to Dr. Renato Romagnoli, Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Turin and Director of the Liver Transplant Center at Molinette Hospital where the patient is hospitalized, the 15-year-old was otherwise healthy, except for the congenital anhidrosis he suffers from. Due to this condition, he should not spend long periods in the sun or engage in physical exertion in hot environments. Despite this, the young man went hiking with friends in the sun during a heatwave, resulting in heatstroke, with his body temperature reaching 42 degrees Celsius.
From heatstroke to acute liver failure
Attempts by ambulance and medical personnel to cool him with ice and water proved unsuccessful. The teenager soon developed seizures and fell into a coma from which he did not recover. At the hospital where he was transferred, he was intubated and eventually stabilized, then sent to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the University Hospital of Patras in Rio.
His liver function deteriorated rapidly over the next 36 hours, as he developed jaundice and severe impairment in the liver’s ability to produce proteins essential for blood clotting. The 15-year-old was diagnosed with acute liver failure requiring emergency liver transplantation, which was ultimately performed in less than 60 hours from his arrival in Italy.
Fortunately, the transplanted organ functioned immediately and the teenager has now been extubated. He has awakened, his condition appears stable, and he shows progressive neurological improvement.
He is no longer hospitalized in the ICU where he was transferred after transplantation, having been discharged and now receiving care in the Enhanced Care Unit of the Liver Transplant Center at Molinette Hospital. As Dr. Romagnoli stated: “If all goes well, he will remain in hospital for another week to 10 days.” He added: “In September he will be able to return to school. 90% of pediatric liver recipients have quality of life comparable to their healthy peers.”
First case with anhidrosis
It’s worth noting that the 15-year-old’s case is the first involving congenital anhidrosis handled at this particular Turin Center, despite having performed over 4,300 liver transplantations.
15-year-old Dimitris was also the youngest of three patients brought to the hospital emergency department with heatstroke on the same day. The other two patients were adults. As Dr. Romagnoli explained: “Sweating helps the body get rid of excess heat to maintain internal temperature. However, this boy has congenital deficiency of this mechanism.” He concluded: “It’s an isolated problem. Otherwise he had nothing wrong. I think he will remember for his whole life what almost happened to him. The doctors in Greece immediately understood what had happened to him, but the serious liver damage had already developed.”
