Date: Fri 11-Dec-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Jonathan-Lambo-liver-operation

Full Text:

Sandy Hook Youth To Undergo Rare Liver Transplant

(with photo)

BY KAAREN VALENTA

Jonathan Lambo won't be attending school on Monday.

The 14-year-old Sandy Hook youth is scheduled to be at Columbia Presbyterian

Babies Hospital in New York City undergoing a rare liver transplant operation

in which he will receive part of the liver of his father, John.

"Living related transplant surgery is very new," Jonathan's mother, Pat, said.

"The first one was done in 1989. Between then and last July 31, there have

only been 354 done in the United States."

Jonathan, who is in seventh grade at the Newtown Middle School, was born with

a potentially fatal liver disorder called biliary artresia. As an infant, he

underwent surgery that was seen as a temporary solution.

"Only one-third of these surgeries are successful and they usually don't last

for 14 years. We were incredibly lucky," Pat Lambo said. "We never prayed for

a miracle -- we prayed for time for science to come up with a solution."

During those years the Lambos tried to treat Jonathan just like their other

two children, Andrew, 12, and Megan, 9.

"He's very active -- I just shut my eyes when he is on his skateboard," Mrs

Lambo said. "We decided we need to let him be a child -- although I did give

our trampoline away."

The Lambos moved to Sandy Hook from Freehold, N.J., in 1994, settling into a

house on Country Squire Road. Everything seemed to go well until last August

when Jonathan suddenly became very jaundiced, his skin turning yellow, a

signal that his liver was not functioning correctly.

"He has a very big spleen, which is dangerous, and low platelet count," Mrs

Lambo said.

The Lambos were told that the time had come to either place Jonathan on the

list for an organ transplant from an unknown donor, or to consider a new

procedure, a living related transplant.

"There are 123 liver transplant centers in the United States and as of

November 23 there were 11,663 waiting for an organ transplant," Mrs Lambo

said. "Can you imagine being one of more than 11,000 waiting for a donor

liver?"

The other option, a living related transplant, was relatively new at Columbia

Presbyterian.

"Columbia Presbyterian has done 18 in the year since the center opened a year

ago," Mrs Lambo said. "Jonathan's doctor, Jean Emond, was present at the very

first living related liver transplant and teaches the procedure."

The Lambo's were surprised that a living related transplant could be done

between a parent and a teenager.

"I didn't think it was possible because of his size," Mr Lambo said. "I

thought it could be done only with babies. Luckily I'm in that 20 percent of

the population that has more liver to give. And, fortunately, we are the same

blood type."

"We're scheduled to be there at 7:30 am on Monday. John's surgery will take

four hours, Jonathan's will take seven to eight," Mrs Lambo said. "When Dr

Emond removes a portion of John's liver, he will put it in an ice bucket and

walk it to Babies Hospital. Then he will eat lunch, scrub up and begin

Jonathan's surgery. He will be in surgery about 12 hours that day."

If all goes well, John Lambo should be released from the hospital in five

days; Jonathan in 10 days.

"The first one or two days are critical," Mrs Lambo said.

One of the Lambo's early concerns about the surgery -- the medical insurance

-- seems to have been at least partially resolved. When Mr Lambo's employer

moved the company operations to Ohio last summer, John Lambo opted to stay

here and look for another job. He was hired as a sales representative for the

Wilson Learning Company, which produces training development programs.

"At first our new primary insurance carrier told us that it wouldn't cover

more than $30,000 of the cost -- the operation is about $190,000," Mrs Lambo

said. "There was never any question that we would do it, even if we had to

sell our house. Then they said Jonathan would have to be flown to another

hospital in Omaha, Nebraska, or California. That would have been awful -- you

have to be near the hospital for three months afterward for the required

followup."

Eventually it was worked out that COBRA (continuation of benefits coverage

from Mr Lambo's previous employer) will pay for the first month and the

primary carrier will begin in January, although how much coverage will be

provided still is not clear. But Jonathan will be able to have the surgery at

Columbia Presbyterian, where he has been treated since birth.

Mr Lambo said his employers were extremely supportive when he learned, and had

to tell them, on the first day of his new job that he would need to take time

off for the surgery.

"They've been great," he said. "They've been very supportive and helped work

out the insurance problems."

Jonathan has already begun to take the drugs needed to supress his immune

system so that his body will be less likely to reject the transplanted organ.

If for any reason the transplant doesn't work, Mrs Lambo said she has the same

blood type, A positive, as her husband and son and also would willingly give a

portion of her liver to her son.

The Lambo's would like everyone to pray for them while they are undergoing

surgery. They also would like to hear from friends in Newtown while they are

in the hospital. Cards and letters can be sent to Jonathan Lambo, Columbia

Presbyterian Babies Hospital, 8th Floor South, 3959 Broadway, New York, N.Y.

10032. He also can be reached on the Internet at www.raymis.com. Click on

"healing" and a photo of Jonathan will appear. Friends can sign a get-well

card on the web site.