Pancreatitis, a painful inflammation of the pancreas, is sometimes associated in the elderly. But there is another form of pancreatitis – one that is hereditary and affects infants and children. There is no cure, and often these children suffer lifelong pain. Now a new treatment will help them lead happy, pain-free lives.
Lilah Ford’s pet friends kept her company when she was so sick she couldn’t get out of bed.
“Like a sharp pain that would go from my stomach to my back,” Lilah explained.
“It only hit every few months and she was in constant pain for about a week,” said Leah Ford, Lilah’s mother.
Her father was born with hereditary pancreatitis and has firsthand experience of the pain his daughter has struggled with.
“You couldn’t imagine that. She experienced that and knows that she has to live with it. [It’s] awful, ”said Joe Ford.
Dr. Jordan Winter, a pancreatic surgeon at Rainbow Babies & Children’s University Hospital, removed Lilah’s gallbladder, spleen, and most of her pancreas.
“When you take the disease out, the patient is often cured, which is really exciting,” said Winter.
But islet cells in the pancreas make insulin. Without diabetes, diabetes is almost certain until now.
“The really innovative option for patients with pancreatitis is auto-islet transfusion. We were able to give her islet cells that produce insulin back, ”said Winter.
Lilah’s diseased pancreas was taken to a laboratory and the islet cells were removed.
“The next day we bring Lilah back to the operating room and infuse these islet cells directly into her liver. In this case, your liver becomes your new endocrine or insulin-producing organ, ”explains Winter.
Lilah needs to check her insulin levels regularly, but so far so good.
“I don’t have this pain anymore,” Lilah Ford said with a smile.
“Now she’s basically back to normal as she can be. It’s great to hear laughter, ”said Joe Ford.
The doctors hope that in the future the researchers will not only be able to remove islet cells from the existing pancreas, but that they will be able to regenerate even more in the laboratory in order to give patients an even greater chance of avoiding diabetes.
Contributors to this news report are: Marsha Lewis, producer; Kirk Manson, videographer; Roque Correa, editor.
