Rare surgery gives new life to baby with deformed intestine

KOLKATA: A little-heard-of surgical procedure at a Kolkata hospital has saved the life of a premature newborn. Two weeks before the Caesarean delivery was carried out, an ultrasonography report showed signs of duodenal atresia. While the surgery was being carried out, the surgeons realized that the child's condition was much more serious as a large part of the small intestine was missing after the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine just beyond the stomach) and the remaining portion hanging in the abdominal cavity, resulting in blockage.The anomaly is known as apple-peel jejunal atresia. The baby will be discharged on Friday.
Described as a rare genetic disorder occurring in one out of 10,000 births, in jejunal (one of the three portions of the small intestine) atresia the stomach fold that links the small intestine to the back wall of the abdomen is missing. This makes the jejunal twist around the marginal artery one of the arteries of the colon and cause a blockage. Because of this, food and other fluids do not pass from the stomach to the intestine.
On August 18, a baby girl was born to Samrat Mukherjee and his wife Sanchita from Howrah, at least four weeks premature. Immediately after birth, the child was shifted to the neonatal intensive care unit of RSV Hospital as the blockage in the intestine caused severe bile vomiting.
The child appeared to be well at birth but turned sick on being fed and started vomiting a green substance. "The baby was active, alert and didn't have any other congenital anomalies," said Biswajit Bhaduri, neonatal surgeon.
Bhaduri, along with surgeon Chanda Mukhopadhyay and neonatologist Tapabrata Chattaopadhyay, performed the surgery. The baby was kept in the NICU and given intra-venous nutrition. Ten days after the surgery, the child passed stool for the first time. Oral feeding started the next day.
"The baby has been able to accept oral feeding and is doing well," Bhaduri said.