ONE of the UK’s youngest open heart surgery patients is recovering in hospital following a second remarkable procedure, believed to be a world first.

Jasmine Carr was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and was taken from her parents, James and Joanne Carr, to prepare for surgery at ten minutes old.

Further complications mean the couple, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, face another anxious wait to discover if a shunt fitted to drain fluid from their daughter’s heart can be removed.

The couple believe it is the first time the procedure has been carried out on a baby such as Jasmine, who in effect has only half a working heart.

Mrs Carr, 27, said: “It all began on our 20-week scan, that is when it was first diagnosed.

It’s not genetic and it affects one in 5,000 babies.”

The couple were given three options by the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, the first of which was to terminate the pregnancy.

Mr Carr, 29, said: “Option two was we could carry on and hold her in our arms while she passed away, option three was to carry on and she would be taken, straight away and be prepared for an operation.”

Mrs Carr said: “I felt like my life was falling apart, I cried for days and weeks.

“We knew straight away what we were going to do, but we said we would think about it.”

Jasmine was born at 3.20pm on October 26, and was in surgery in the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, by 9am the following day for an 11-hour procedure to effectively replumb her heart.

However, on October 28, Jasmine suffered a cardiac arrest and had to spend three days on a machine that took over her heart and lung functions.

Shortly after that, she suffered a further blow to her recovery, a chyle leak, which threatened her immune system and required the shunt.

The couple believe the procedure has only been carried out on two babies before, in the US, but it is the first time the procedure has been carried out on a baby with one ventricle.

Jasmine is expected to undergo further operations but the couple have been told she will eventually need a heart transplant.

The couple visit Jasmine four times a week and stay as long as they can but are determined to build as normal a home life as possible for their other two children, Jake, five, and Jamie-Leigh, one.

Mr Carr, who has given up work as a lorry driver to help care for Jasmine, said the family remains positive for the future.

He said: “Everyone at the Freeman Hospital has been great, and we can’t thank them enough for what they have done.”