New Operation Ouch! episode filmed in children’s cystic fibrosis clinic

Staring in a TV episode, beating his celebrity opponent at table football and acing all his medical tests were all just another day for 6-year-old Maddox, who appears in an upcoming episode of the CBBC show, Operation Ouch!

Presenter, Dr Xand van Tulleken, joined Maddox for a day in the children’s cystic fibrosis clinic at Royal Brompton Hospital for his annual assessment. Dr Xand learned about what Maddox does to manage his cystic fibrosis and how his clinical team of nurses, doctors, dietitians, physiologists, physiotherapists, psychologists and many more work together to keep him healthy.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition. It happens because there is a problem with salt transport in the cells, which causes mucus to become thicker than normal and accumulate. This thick mucus gets stuck in the lungs, making patients more prone to infections and breathing difficulties, and in the pancreas, making it difficult to absorb nutrients from food, as well as in many other organs of the body

The team carried out tests including X-rays and breathing assessments to see how the work which Maddox puts in at home with his chest physiotherapy (airway clearance) and taking his medication are helping to manage his condition and keep him well.

After a busy day of tests, when the clinic was over, Maddox and Dr Xand competed in a table football tournament, where Maddox celebrated not only a successful day at the hospital but also a solid victory over Dr Xand.

Maddox’s doctor, Dr Rishi Pabary, consultant in paediatric respiratory medicine at Royal Brompton Hospital said: “We really enjoyed welcoming the team from Operation Ouch! to our clinic at Royal Brompton Hospital and hope that everyone watching the episode will learn lots about cystic fibrosis and all the things we do to help children stay healthy.

Every year, around 1 in every 2,500 babies born in the UK are born with cystic fibrosis. Our specialist multidisciplinary team helps many children just like Maddox live normal, healthy and fulfilling lives when at home, at school and with their friends.

You can watch the episode featuring Maddox and Dr Xand on Wednesday 5 March at 5.30pm on CBBC and then on BBC iPlayer.

Evelina London provides hospital care and treatment for babies, children and young people at both our purpose-built children's hospital on the St Thomas' hospital site and at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals. We care for families in our local areas and provide an extensive range of specialist services for children with rare and complex conditions from all over the southeast of England and beyond.

Each year the team at Royal Brompton Hospital cares for between 300-330 children with cystic fibrosis making the service the largest paediatric specialist service in the UK for this complex condition. The team works very closely with the hospital’s adult cystic fibrosis team to ensure a seamless transition to adult services and a lifetime of specialist care.