Doctors Perform Lifesaving Liver Transplant On Girl Before Dad Deployed

UHealth – University of Miami Health System surgeons at Jackson Memorial Hospital recently performed a lifesaving liver transplant on a little girl about to say goodbye to her father. Eleven-year-old Victoria Rojas, whose father will be deployed overseas shortly, received word that she had a match just seven days after her father returned home from a previous military deployment. After transplant surgery, she is now on the road to recovery.

Victoria began showing signs of jaundice – an unnaturally yellow discoloration of her skin and eyes – in April 2016.

Victoria, a fifth grader from Clearwater, Fla., underwent a series of diagnostic tests, which determined that she had autoimmune hepatitis type 1 liver disease. The chronic disease causes the body’s immune system to attack the liver and cause it to become inflamed, often leading to liver failure.

“The doctor told us that her liver was so bad it was equivalent to that of a person who had been drinking their whole life,” said her mother, Mary Ann Rojas. “She was rarely sick. I couldn’t believe my baby was going through this.”

Victoria spent the next several weeks in the hospital, as her mother desperately searched for solutions and the best care for her daughter. To make matters worse, Mary Ann and Victoria were longing for the support and comfort of husband and father Jenaro Rojas, who, at the time, was deployed as a military contractor.

“I’ve traveled to five continents for years on dangerous missions,” Jenaro said. “But seeing my baby hurt and me feeling helpless has been the most pain I’ve ever endured.”

Victoria’s doctors in Clearwater referred her to the Miami Transplant Institute at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center.

Despite the uncertainty of Victoria’s condition, they were confident they had found the right place, especially after meeting with Jennifer Garcia, MD, a UHealth pediatric hepatologist at Holtz Children’s Hospital.

“Upon first meeting Victoria, it was clear her autoimmune disease had progressed to end-stage liver disease,” Dr. Garcia said. “She had developed ascites, fluid in her abdomen, and esophageal varices at risk for bleeding, enlarged veins in the feeding tube that connects the throat to the stomach. There was no doubt that she would need a lifesaving liver transplant in order to achieve a good, long-term outcome.”

By the end of 2016, Victoria was placed on the national waiting transplant list.

“Victoria was sad and kept asking: ‘Why me? What did I do that this happened to me, and why didn’t this happen when I was a baby?’” her mother recalled.

Still, the family turned to their faith and grew more united, particularly when Jenaro returned home from his deployment on March 13. Just seven days later, the family received the call they’d been waiting for. A compatible donor liver was available for Victoria.

The family drove to Miami, where UHealth transplant surgeon Akin Tekin, MD, spearheaded the five-hour surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

“We had faith in God and the doctors,” Mary Ann said. “They’re heroes. They saved my little princess’ life.”

Dr. Tekin looks forward to Victoria’s bright future.

The road to recovery will be a slow one, but the family is grateful that Victoria will be able to return to school, play sports, and have a normal childhood again.

“Victoria is smiling more, walks more, is ecstatic, and is eating more,” Mary Ann said. “She is no longer on pain medication and she is stronger than ever.”

“I feel good,” Victoria said. “I look forward to going home.”

As Victoria recovers, her father feels grateful that he could be by her side during her recovery. In just a few weeks, he is scheduled to once again be deployed for another 10-month stint overseas.

He has peace of mind knowing that his daughter’s health is improving.

April is National Donate Life Month and because of Victoria’s successful transplantation journey, the family now wants to advocate for this cause.

“We are thankful to the donor family that saved my daughter’s life,” Jenaro said. “We are forever in your debt.”