A 10-year-old girl is now “inoperable” after surgery was delayed seven times in the UK.

Eve Tennent’s case is now “inoperable” according to her mother. A 10-year-old British girl has Rett syndrome and is now suffering irreversible consequences after her spinal surgery was delayed seven times, the BBC reported this Wednesday, March 27.

Rett syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that affects brain development and can cause bone deformities such as scoliosis. As a result, young Eva suffers from severe scoliosis. The curvature of his spine was 60.89 degrees in May 2022, increased to 107.9 degrees last year and is currently 110 degrees, according to his mother Jill Lockhart.

“I can’t get an explanation.”

“They waited so long and now they say it’s too late. “I feel like my daughter’s chances of survival have been sacrificed,” the mother told the BBC. “Last week we were told that the operation could take place on March 28. Today we are told that he is inoperable and I cannot get an explanation from the hospital why the situation has changed so quickly,” Jill Lockhart laments.

Eve Tennent could “live another 15 to 30 years” thanks to this spinal surgery. “Without this, she risks dying,” says her mother. Her operation at Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, was delayed three times due to staff shortages and another four times because the little girl had breathing problems. For Jill Lockhart, these problems were a consequence of previous delays as the significant curvature of her spine puts pressure on her vital organs.

The surgeon who performed the operation has been suspended

A BBC investigation in 2023 found that staffing shortages in Scotland’s healthcare structure meant wait times for spine operations were three times longer than before the pandemic. But British media also discovered that one of the institution’s pediatric surgeons responsible for monitoring Eva had been suspended.

In mid-March, the girl’s family was informed by the hospital that the doctor would no longer care for her, without any reason justifying the change. “If a practitioner is unable to practice for any reason, patients and their families will be informed of the impact of this absence on their care and their case will be transferred to another surgeon as soon as possible, particularly if their condition warrants this.” This is reported by the local agency of the NHS, the British public health organization.