Mother and baby saved thanks to UHNM experts
Lucy and Thomas
A Herefordshire mother has today thanked clinicians at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) for the life-saving treatment she received. Pregnant Lucy Rossiter was initially thought to have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) after suffering for months with stomach pain, but doctors in Hereford later found she had a bile duct infection which posed a serious risk to her and her baby.
34-year-old Lucy, a primary school teacher from Kingsland in Herefordshire, was seven weeks’ pregnant when her condition began to rapidly deteriorate.
Doctors at Hereford County Hospital scoured the country to find clinicians with the expert knowledge needed to treat the mother-of-two.
UHNM’s endoscopy team were contacted and Lucy was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital for care.
Lucy said: “I started to experience abdominal pains in early May 2020. My GP suspected I had IBS but over time various remedies proved to be ineffective and the flare-ups increased in intensity and frequency and on a number of occasions I had to go to hospital.
“I had been living with these symptoms for about 12 months and during this time I discovered I was pregnant with my second child, Thomas.
“In April 2021 me and my partner William became very worried. Not only did my symptoms continue to get worse but I now also had our unborn baby to worry about.
“Events finally came to a head one night when I was in severe pain, vomiting and unable to stand. William called 111 and I was blue-lighted to Hereford County Hospital. I then spent the next few days as an inpatient waiting for a diagnosis. It was horrible, I was desperate to get home so that I could see my daughter.
“Eventually I was able to get home but my liver function continued to get worse and I was back in hospital in May, where my condition deteriorated rapidly.
“My doctors contacted Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent and the entire endoscopy team got together and agreed that the necessary procedure could be carried out at Stoke and would be scheduled for the following morning.
“When I arrived at Stoke I was in terrible pain and almost unable to stand, let alone walk. I would have given anything to stop the pain and make me feel better.
“I found the endoscopy team ready and waiting for me at Royal Stoke. Everybody I came into contact with was aware of who I was and exactly why I was there.
“When I left after having my procedure, everybody was amazed that I could not only stand but also walk out of hospital, the pain was gone instantly. The change was just incredible and made such a difference to my condition, it was as if someone had turned a tap off. William commented that it was like a different person who walked out of Royal Stoke.
“When I was ill I was having flare-ups a good few times a week, so trying to look after my daughter Poppy was really hard. Now I have a controlled diet but I can live more normally.
“I need to have my gall bladder removed and might have to always be a bit more restricted in what I eat, but I feel I will be able to manage it.
“Dr Hebbar and his team at Royal Stoke were incredible. The care that I had, their professionalism, just everything. I cannot thank them enough.
“Now I can get back to a more normal life. We’re quite an active family and we like the outdoors, we like spending time at the coast, we spend quite a lot of time with our extended family. We’ve got holidays booked as well. When I was ill I couldn’t really enjoy them, so it’s nice to have something to look forward to.
“I am very grateful to all the NHS for working together to help me.”
Baby Thomas
Lucy lives with her partner William Wood, 37, and is mum to two-year-old daughter Poppy and new baby Thomas.
William, Poppy, Lucy and Thomas
Consultant gastroenterologist Dr Srisha Hebbar and his team cared for Lucy at Royal Stoke University Hospital.
The team were able to remove the bile duct stone which was causing Lucy’s infection and affecting her liver function.
Dr Hebbar said: “Lucy’s was an extremely complicated case, made more challenging by the fact that she was pregnant. The endoscopic procedure to remove the stone in the bile duct involves using X-ray to assess the location of the stone and understand the anatomy. In a pregnant lady in her first trimester, the radiation is a significant risk to the baby. An additional risk of this particular procedure is pancreatitis - especially so in young women - because the bile duct and pancreas are close to each other. This complication can be serious and even fatal.
“Unfortunately other trusts were unable to accept Lucy’s case because of the complexity involved, so we were contacted.
“If we had not done the procedure, there was clearly a significant risk to Lucy because of the infection but at the same time, we did not want to put the baby at any risk because of the procedure.”
The team performed an endoscopic ultrasound, which helps to identify internal structures and can assess the pancreas and bile duct in detail. Using this, they were able to identify the location and size of the bile duct stone and successfully remove it.
Dr Hebbar continued: “As it turned out, we did not need to use any x-ray in the end, so the procedure was completed and the stone removed with no risk to the baby.
“Lucy was able to travel back to Hereford the same day and was discharged the next day.”