Ukrainian Surgeons Perform Life-Saving Brain Surgery on a 4-Year Old Girl from Northern Ireland

In a groundbreaking procedure, pediatric neurosurgeons at St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital in Lviv, Ukraine, successfully removed part of a four-year-old girl’s brain hemisphere to relieve her from debilitating seizures. This marked the hospital’s first treatment of a young patient from abroad, as the girl’s family traveled nearly 3,000 kilometers for the life-saving surgery.

The patient, Rachel Gribben, exhibited body tremors and developmental delays at 18 months old, followed by severe seizures diagnosed as epilepsy and epileptic spasms. Further examinations led her parents to seek treatment from renowned American neurosurgeon Dr. Luke Tomich. Dr. Tomich advised consulting Ukrainian specialists in Lviv’s St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital. Despite missile threats, Rachel’s family traveled to Lviv for the procedure.

Dr. Mykhailo Lovga, the girl’s neurosurgeon, explained that the surgery involved a special way of reaching the problem area in the brain: “We carefully opened the skull, found the abnormal tissue, and slowly separated it before removing it completely. Because this tissue was close to the area that controls movement, we worked with neurologists and used very advanced technology during the surgery.”

The surgery was successful — Rachel’s seizures have completely ceased and will no longer impede her development. The girl and her family have already returned to their home in Northern Ireland.