ALBINA Taraskina, the little Russian girl who came to Glasgow for a

life-saving heart operation, looked the picture of health as she boarded

a flight for home yesterday.

British Airways, which flew five-year-old Albina to Scotland without

charge, gave her a VIP send-off yesterday on the first leg of her return

journey to Sverdlovsk with her mother, Davina.

Mrs Taraskina, who wrote to hospitals round the world after Russian

and visiting American surgeons turned the operation down as too risky,

said: ''We did not know much about Scotland or Scottish people until we

came here, but I will be telling people in Russia about the kindness and

friendship we have received.''

She also expressed her thanks to the many well-wishers who had sent

cards, gifts and sweets to Albina during her month-long stay at the

Royal Hospital for Sick Children -- so many, in fact, that she said:

''If you don't mind, we would like to pass some of them on to other

children in Russia.''

Heart surgeon Mr Jim Pollock -- ''the man with the golden hands'' in

Mrs Taraskina's words -- was able to operate because of ultrasound, a

Yorkhill invention which has since gone round the world.

In Albina's case, the doctors revealed the parts other scans couldn't

reach by slipping the ultrasound mike down Albina's throat so they could

see her heart from the back.

Consultant Dr Alan Houston said yesterday: ''The scan showed up an

artery leading to her left lung, which had not shown up before because

it was blocked up. The doctors in Russia did not know it was there.''

Their investigations also showed up one of the four valves in Albina's

heart, which also had not shown up previously because it was not

functioning.

Armed with this information, Mr Pollock was able to carry out surgery

to ensure that the artery would grow so that Albina could thrive and

come back for another operation in a few years.