A unique surgery performed at Osaka University Hospital on an 11-year-old girl suffering from an enlarged heart condition known as dilated cardiomyopathy was declared successful.

The surgery involved the cultivation of a “cell sheet” originating from the patient’s own calf muscles and applying it to the heart. This was the first surgery of its kind in the world to result in success with a child patient.

Returning to a stable health condition, the little girl is expected to leave the hospital as soon as sometime this month.

With the shortage of heart donors, the “cell sheet” method is seen as an optimistic alternative for heart operations.