A Cape Town baby who was born with his intestines and half his liver protruding from his body, is now thriving at home with his family after a successful operation involving the boy’s own amniotic tissue saved from his birth.

Ephraim Maleho was born on 8 March this year, but his parents knew it wasn’t going to be an easy start, after a pregnancy scan at 13 weeks revealed some of his internal organs were developing outside of his body, in a translucent ‘bubble’.

Principal neo-natologist practising at Netcare Blaauwberg Hospital, Dr Ricky Dippenaar, says their initial attempt, to push back the organs into the tummy cavity after birth, resulted in the protective bubble rupturing.

Plan B was using the amniotic tissue.

“The amniotic tissue incorporated well, reinforcing the bubble of tissue around Ephraim’s organs, which then underwent a transformation and started contracting. Together with the constricting dressing, the bubble reduced dramatically, gently squeezing the organs into his abdomen, and allowing Ephraim’s abdominal cavity to expand.”

After two months, the cavity was large enough to fit all Ephraim’s organs safely inside and the external sac had shrunk to resemble “a tiny rhino horn, tough, firm and providing total protection”.

At last, at the optimal point, he was ready for surgery, and a team of doctors performed the intricate procedure to close Ephraim’s abdominal wall, with all his organs in their correct place.

Ephraim’s parents have expressed their appreciation to Dr Dippenaar, the other specialists and the NICU team, particularly Sr Kelly Delaney, for their efforts in bringing Ephraim safely through his first critical months.

“We thank God for sending these angels to look after our son. They were open about the risks, and supported us to make the necessary decisions for our son informed by the facts. We want other families to know that there are people who understand what it is like to go through a difficult journey like we had with Ephraim, and that there is hope. He is our little miracle warrior.”