UK doctors used viagra as a last resort to save the life of a premature baby, reported BBC today.
Lewis Goodfellow was born at 24 weeks weighing just 1lb 8oz. One of his lungs had failed and not enough oxygen was able to get into his bloodstream. Doctors at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary then tried Sildenafil, also known under the trade name of Viagra, and Lewis is now home with his parents. The drug opened up tiny blood vessels in the baby’s lungs.
Parents Jade Goodfellow and John Barclay, from Walker, Newcastle believe the drug – more usually associated with anti-impotence – saved his life. What Sildenafil does is open up the blood vessels so they can capture the oxygen and take it around the body.
Lewis was born in August 2006 and was finally allowed home in January, to the delight of his parents.
This is the pharmacological action of Sildenafil causing pooling of blood in the blood vessels and opening up smaller ones, and helping the transfusion of oxygen in the blood in the lungs tissue, giving more oxygen to circulatory system saving the life of premature baby.
Neonatologist Alan Fenton told the Mirror it’s unusual to use Viagra on premature babies. “It is a fairly new form of treatment. It has been used successfully in full-term babies, but it is unclear whether it works as well in very premature babies.”