Royal Hospital for Sick Children

Press and news

A toddler from West Lothian is among the first in Scotland to benefit from new state-of-the-art equipment at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

18-month-old Rowan Crombie, who lives with her parents in Philpstoun, West Lothian, underwent major keyhole surgery at the hospital after developing a rare condition caused by a cyst close to her liver.

Keith Crombie, Rowan's father, said: "Over the last 12 months Rowan started to develop episodes of sickness which gradually became more frequent.

"It was discovered that Rowan's condition was due to a choledochal cyst in her common bile duct. The cyst caused the duct to become swollen and painful and in order to fix it surgeons at the hospital had to carry out a hepato-duodenostomy.

"Using the new surgical equipment the doctors were able to perform the operation via keyhole rather than open surgery."

Mr Gordon MacKinlay, Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, explains: "Having the new upgrade to our OR1 keyhole surgery equipment provided by the Sick Kids Friends Foundation has been a huge benefit to the hospital."

Thanks to the OR1 surgery system, Edinburgh is recognised world-wide as a leader in paediatric keyhole surgery.

Mr Crombie said: "The whole experience has been incredibly tough but thankfully Rowan is recovering well.

"The doctors have been very happy with her recovery and she was discharged from hospital two days after her operation. Since then she's been doing incredibly well at home."

Since Rowan's operation, her father has raised more than £850 for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation and is currently planning a sponsored skydive.