Haiti baby gets treatment in UK

A three-month-old survivor of the Haiti earthquake is awaiting life-saving treatment in a London children's hospital.

Ladina Seignon was a patient in a Haitian hospital even before the devastating earthquake hit the country.

The baby girl, whose mother is thought to have died in the disaster, was due to have a bone removed in her skull following a previous incident which left her with severe burns to the head.

But when the catastrophic quake struck the country, Landina was buried under rubble in Port-au-Prince's Trinity Hospital for two days.  She suffered horrific injuries during the chaos and doctors were forced to amputate her arm.

Evacuated

Dr David Nott was working as a volunteer for Medecins Sans Frontieres in Haiti and recognised that the baby girl would die unless she recieved further treatment. "Her head injuries meant there was significant risk of brain infection unless she had an operation," he said.

Dr Nott began to make arrangements to transfer Landina to the UK for treatment, but initially came up against the military because she had no official papers. Following assessment of her condition, the Haitian Ministry of Health agreed for Ladina to be evacuated for treatment.

The baby girl will be cared for in London's Great Ormond Street Hospital and treatment costs will be funded by the charity Facing the World.

Sarah Driver-Jowitt, executive for the charity, said: "It is a huge relief to know Ladina is in the right environment for her to start her journey towards recovery."  Paediatric surgeon Professor Richard Hayward said the medical team in London was "cautiously optimistic" about her chances.