Breastbone transplant helps mum beat cancer
Nathalie in UK surgery first
A MUM’S advanced breast cancer was eradicated after her breastbone was replaced in a UK-first transplant.
Nathalie Brett was diagnosed as stage four aged 24 and given little chance of survival.
But thanks to the pioneering operation, the 34-year-old now has no active cancer.
She said: “We’re still in the early days but it has given us a lot of hope. “For the first time in a very long time I can see a future in which I might get to grow old and get to see my daughter grow up.”
Nathalie’s breastbone and part of her collarbone were replaced with a bone from a deceased donor.
Once the bone was integrated it became “alive” again as her bone marrow cells “inhabit” the implant. It means there is virtually no risk of rejection.
The allograft sterno-clavicular reconstruction is a version of an operation pioneered in Italy.
It involved a 10-hour op with six surgeons, 10 support staff and two anaesthetists. Natalie, from Witney, Oxon, was diagnosed in 2012 and had radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
This held back her cancer to some extent but left her in pain.
She gave birth to baby girl Elsa against the odds in 2020 before last June’s surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.
Nathalie said she was excited at the prospect of the groundbreaking procedure.
“I was offered a once-in-alifetime surgery and, although it was a hard decision, I had to take it for my daughter and family,” she said. Surgeon Francesco
Di Chiara added: “We are overjoyed to see her doing so well after an operation that has never been done before.”
The Mirror has fought to increase organ donation for five years and got the law in England changed to deemed consent.
Max and Keira’s Law came into effect in 2020 but bereaved relatives can still object to donation so it is vital people tell loved ones of their wishes.
Kyle Bennett, of NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “We are so pleased Nathalie was able to get this life-changing transplant thanks to the generosity of a donor and their family.”