Five day old baby given pacemaker

A five day old baby born with a heart defect has been fitted with a pacemaker at the Royal Hospital for Children in Bristol, UK and is now recovering at home.

He is one of the youngest patients ever to be given a pacemaker.

The baby, Liam King, had been diagnosed with the congenital heart condition while still in the womb and he would not have survived without the device.

Liam, born six weeks prematurely, was initially not expected to survive for 15 minutes after he was born because of the heart block which affected electrical signals sent to the heart to control the heartbeats.

As Liam is so small, the pacemaker has been placed near his stomach and controls the lower chambers of his heart.

Following the operation, Liam was revived three times when he stopped breathing but he has since recovered well enough to be allowed to go home.

Liam faces more operations at age 5, 12 and 21, to replace the device as he grows and he may also eventually need a heart transplant.

Parents Ann Collier and Andy King, from Cwm near Ebbw Vale in Blaenau Gwent, Wales, have now adopted some important rules in order to keep Liam safe, including not using a mobile phone near him in case it interferes with the device.

While contact sports are ruled out for Liam in the future, doctors say swimming will be good exercise.