Israel's Medical Marvel

Doctors were able to save the life of a 14 year-old girl from Angola removing a 14 cm Tumor from her chest. The tumor weighs half a kilo and it pushed her heart to the side, under her arm. Only few similar cases are known in the whole world.

Elisa Manuel Antonio was first diagnosed during the Save a Child’s Heart (SACH) medical mission to Angola last October. She was examined by senior cardiologist Dr. Alona Raucher, who had never seen such a large tumour before, and immediately understood that they need to bring her to Israel to try and save her life. Elisa was brought to Israel by SACH. On March 19, 2012, after hours of complicated surgery, the SACH team managed to take out the tumor from Elisa’s chest and saved her life.

Elisa is now recovering at the Wolfson Medical Center. She will stay in Israel another month and once the doctors are sure she is well enough, she will return home to Angola. The SACH medical team will continue and follow up on Elisa’s condition through the local cardiologist in Luanda.

Dr Lior Sasson, Chief Surgeon of SACH, visits Elisa

SACH is an Israel-based international humanitarian project providing life-saving heart surgery and follow-up care for children from developing countries. SACH is a hospital-based project whose services are provided at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.

SACH was founded in 1999. It has 12 branches around the world. It has saved the life of some 2800 children from 42 countries. The surgery is paid for by donations.

The timing could not be better, since this week Save a Child's Heart Executive Director Simon Fisher was invited to speak before Liverpool Limmud, the UK Jewish community’s innovative educational organisation, and at other awareness events of Save a Child's Heart in London.

Save a Child's Heart has an office in London, led by chairman Walter Felman, who has been working for years to raise awareness and funds for the Israeli charity.