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From The Times
February 16, 2007

Viagra used to save the life of baby born 16 weeks early

A premature baby boy born at 24 weeks was given Viagra by doctors in an attempt to save his life.

Lewis Goodfellow is one of the first babies to be given the drug at the Royal Victoria Infirmary’s special baby care unit in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Sildenafil, also known as Viagra, is being used for very premature babies after other options have been exhausted. The drug works by opening up small blood vessels in the baby’s lungs, which are not working properly, to help carry oxygen around the body in the blood.

Lewis’s parents Jade Goodfellow, 17, and John Barclay, from Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne, praised medical staff, and the drug, for saving the life of their child.

BACKGROUND

Lewis, now six months old and home for the first time, weighed just 1lb 8oz.

In the first few weeks of his life he needed open heart surgery to correct a valve as well as laser surgery to save his eyesight.

“They tried Viagra as a last resort — it worked,” said Jade.

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