260-gram preemie leaves hospital after gaining 12 times birth weight

Samsung Medical Center announced Tuesday that baby girl Lee Ye-rang, born on April 22 as the lightest newborn ever in Korea, has been released from the hospital in good health after 198 days. The baby weighed less than 260 grams at birth, lighter than an apple after only 25 weeks and five days of pregnancy. Normally, the average weight of a newborn is slightly over 3 kilograms, and the survival rate of a newborn weighing less than 300 grams is lower than 1%. This lightest newborn in Korea was the 14th lightest globally as well, according to the medical center.

Ye-rang's parents had her after three years of marriage, but the fetus and the mother suffered severe developmental delay in the womb and preeclampsia. Ye-rang had stopped growing at 21 weeks, prompting the parents to transfer her care to Samsung Medical Center.

Baby Ye-rang, who was as small as the size of a grown-up's palm after birth, had been treated via a ventilator, antibiotics, and blood transfusions due to her symptoms, such as respiratory failure and septic shock. Less than one month after birth, she faced a critical situation when her intestines were blocked by meconium. Still, the medical staff managed to extract the meconium little by little each day, allowing her to survive this crisis. To celebrate her persistence for life under such dire circumstances, the medical staff at the center affectionately named her Tiger of Ilwon District after the area where the medical center is located.

When discharged, Lee weighed 3.19 kilograms, 12 times her birth weight. Now, she can breathe on her own without the help of a machine and suck on the baby bottle just like any other baby. She visited the center for treatment for her first follow-up appointment on Monday and appeared in perfectly healthy condition. "We've witnessed that any faintest spark of life beyond the limit of our current medical knowledge could be reignited if we have adequate interest and support," said Chang Yoon-sil, director of the MoA Intensive Care Center at Samsung Medical Center.


조유라 기자 jyr0101@donga.com