Rare surgery performed on infant to remove faulty oesophagus

In a rare surgery performed on a one-and-a-half-year-old boy,the doctors at the Bombay Hospital removed his food pipe and replaced it with the stomach.

In a rare surgery performed on a one-and-a-half-year-old boy,the doctors at the Bombay Hospital removed his food pipe and replaced it with the stomach. Ratnagiri resident Mohammed Kawankars food pipe was surgically removed after he was diagnosed with the rare condition of gastro-oesophageal reflux.

The abnormality results in a dysfunctional oesophagus (food pipe) which is unable to contract and cannot push food down to the stomach. Ever since we started giving him solid food,he would vomit six to seven times a day. This happened for almost a year, said Mubeen Kawankar,Mohammeds father. He was hospitalised many times in Ratnagiri for chest infections,but the problem continued even after medication.

Since the problem was with the functioning of the food pipe,we decided to perform a laproscopic surgery to remove it. After making five incisions on his stomach,the food pipe was removed and the stomach was pulled up to his chest and stitched to the remnants of the pipe , said Dr Ravindra Ramadwar,pediatric surgeon who performed the four-hour long surgery.

He added,The condition is extremely rare and this is probably the first time in the world that it is being treated using laproscopy instead of open surgery. However,the child has responded well to treatment and should be discharged in the next few days.

While the surgery may have been successful,it will take a while before the child can resume a normal life. It will take at least a year for him to adapt to eating and swallowing because of the shift in organs. There will be restrictions on the food that he eats. For the next 15 years,he will have to do regular endoscopic follow ups, Ramadwar said.

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