Saving Lives in Leeds: BBC viewers celebrate as 10-hour operation saves life of 8-year-old boy

Following four previous cancellations, 8-year-old Ollie was finally rolled into surgery at Leeds Children’s Hospital to fix a serious liver condition – so complicated that only two surgeons in the country were qualified to tackle it.

Ollie had a blockage in the blood supply to his liver which if left untreated could have been fatal.

Hero surgeon Naved Alizai performed the 10-hour operation, where he successfully created a working shunt using a vein from Ollie’s neck.

Speaking on the complications of the surgery Naved said: “One wrong turn can cause a major, major issue. When I’m tackling an area where things can go wrong very easily and very quickly my full concentration is there – even if someone punches me I wouldn’t feel it and that’s because if anything went wrong at that point it would be catastrophic.

“The most amazing feeling for me is that after doing a major operation I go to the parent and say ‘everything went fine’ and I even sometimes have tears in my own eyes because all those things that could have gone wrong didn’t and the child is well.”

Viewers hailed the team of surgeons as well as brave Ollie.

One tweeted: “Incredibly skilled and dedicated surgeon, so amazing to see his work and that of the whole hospital & theatre teams.”

Another added: “Little super star Ollie.”

Following the episode Leeds Teaching Hospitals shared footage on Twitter of Ollie being reunited with his family following surgery.

Captioning it: “What could be more heart-warming?”