A baby with a life-threatening illness is being kept alive with the erectile dysfunction medication Viagra. Owen Bloomfield was born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia, which means that a number of his organs are in the wrong place. He also has a hole in his heart, two spleens and high blood pressure.
Though Owen was only given a week to live, doctors at Glasgow’s Yorkhill Children’s Hospital have been able to prolong his life through regular doses of sildanafil, the medical name for Viagra.
The drug has lowered his blood pressure and his doctors are hopeful that they can turn the machine providing him with nitrogen off. This will mean that his parents Ronnie and Jennifer will be able to pick him up and hug him.
The consultant surgeon at the hospital, Gregor Walker, said that it was becoming increasingly common to use Viagra to treat babies. The new method of treatment was pioneered 8 years ago and has proved an effective treatment option in quite a few cases.
Owen is now aged four weeks and is in a stable condition. He has had surgery to put his organs into the correct position and is starting to breathe on his own.
Scientists have already said that sildanafil could save the lives of thousands of babies born with pulmonary hypertension in the third world. Not only is it an effective treatment, but it is much more affordable than other available options.