A 10 year old Derby girl with a One – in – a million conditions

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A 10 year old pupil at Ladywood Primary School Ilkeston Derby, Laura Johnson, is facing a life-saving surgery rarely performed by doctors.

Medical experts have said Laura could die within a decade if the operation does not succeed.

Although Laura was born with a one in a million condition, with key blood vessels connected to her heart the wrong way round, putting more strain on her heart over the years, she’s trying not to get too worried about the operation.

Laura lives with her mum Allyson Wilkinson, 31 and dad Stuart Johnson in Dumbles Close, Kirk Hallam.Allyson said she was "terrified" about her daughter's operation, which will take place on Thursday.

She was told about the problem by doctors when pregnant but, she said, looking at her daughter, you would not know anything was wrong with her.

"She is not in any pain and it had not caused her any difficulties before." The operation is called a "double switch". Surgeons will attempt to detach and reconnect the main vessels leading to the young Derby girl's heart to ease the pressure on the organ.

Her mum said the condition, called congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries, occurs so infrequently that surgeons at Birmingham Children's Hospital have only performed the procedure about 50 times.

She said: "We are having the operation at Birmingham Children's Hospital. We have been having consultations at Queen's Medical Centre, in Nottingham, but we were referred to Birmingham because they are one of the only places that actually perform this procedure."

If the operation is unsuccessful, Laura will have to be put on a waiting list for a heart transplant.