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Year
2007
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Viagra induces life to a Premature Baby
February 16, 2007
Viagra treated a premature baby who was so ill that his parents were getting ready for his funeral.
After the doctors treated the baby with viagra he emerged alive.
Lewis Goodfellow was born last August at 24 weeks and weighing just 1lb 8oz.
His lungs collapsed the day after he was born and doctors discovered that a duct in his heart had not closed up, meaning blood was not being pumped around his body properly.
At three weeks old, surgeons managed to stitch the duct with a silk thread. But they became worried about his lungs which were still struggling to get enough oxygen into his blood.
With Lewis's condition deteriorating, they decided to try sildenafil, better known by its trade name Viagra, and gradually his lung function began to improve.
The drug works by opening up some of the small blood vessels in lungs which are not working properly to help carry oxygen around the body. It works in a similar way to help impotent men by relaxing the blood vessels and increasing the blood flow to the penis, helping users to overcome erectile dysfunction.
His mother Jade Goodfellow said: "Doctors said he couldn't be given any more oxygen. They were just clutching at straws basically. They explained it was experimental and may not have any effect at all."
Alan Fenton, a consultant neonatologist, said: "Using sildenafil is relatively unusual. It is a fairly new form of treatment which we've been using on the unit for around a year.
"It has been used successfully in full term babies but it is unclear whether it works as well in very premature babies. So far we've used it in around six."
His parents said they had started making funeral plans as Lewis lay critically ill in hospital, but yesterday, Jade and his father, John Barclay, from Walker, Newcastle, credited the wonder drug for saving the baby's life.
Lewis was eventually allowed to leave the hospital on January 15 although he still needs to be given oxygen full-time. Ms Goodfellow, 17, said: "He really is a miracle baby and we decided we would never give up hope until he had taken his last breath. At one point we were told we might have to make a decision about stopping treatment because he was so poorly and we even started to plan his funeral, but everyone prayed so much for him and he pulled through."
Around 27 million men worldwide are taking Viagra out of which it is estimated that 900,000 are situated in Britain. According to announcements it may be soon available in some Boots chemists without a prescription.
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