When Consultant Congenital Cardiac Surgeon Dr. Ikenna Omeje, stepped into the operating theatre on April 16, 2025, it wasn’t just another high-risk procedure — it was a powerful continuation of a remarkable medical journey he helped begin.

Seven years earlier, Dr. Omeje was part of the pioneering team at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust that delivered Vanellope Hope Wilkins, a baby born with ectopia cordis — a rare and typically fatal condition where the heart develops outside the chest.

At the time, Vanellope was given less than a 10% chance of survival. But she beat the odds according to the BBC.

Now, Omeje was once again at the centre of her story, leading a groundbreaking chest reconstruction surgery aimed at finally giving her heart the permanent protection it never had.

“This was always going to be one of the most delicate surgeries we’ve ever done,” Omeje said. “We’ve been waiting years for the right moment to protect her heart properly—and it finally came.”

The operation, which lasted over nine hours, took place at the East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre. Vanellope, who had lived for seven years without a breastbone, relied on a thin layer of skin and an external brace to shield her exposed heart. The goal of this groundbreaking surgery was to use her own ribs to form a permanent, protective cage inside her chest—a method never before attempted in the UK.

Before the procedure, Vanellope was placed on a heart-lung bypass machine, allowing her heart to deflate and be carefully detached from the skin it had adhered to. Surgeons then performed a bilateral rib osteotomy, carefully breaking and repositioning her ribs to enclose the heart within the chest wall.

The surgical team included Consultant Paediatric Surgeon Nitin Patwardhan, visiting Cardiothoracic Surgeon Nagarajan Muthialu from Great Ormond Street Hospital, and around 20 support staff including anaesthetists and perfusionists. But for Omeje, this was personal.

The operation’s success marks a milestone not only in Vanellope’s life, but in medical history. It’s the first time such a reconstruction has been carried out in the UK on a child with ectopia cordis.

Omeje, humbled by the outcome, said: “The best satisfaction is when you get a message from the family saying ‘thank you.’ That’s when you know your work has really made a difference.” (Daily Trust)