Child born without oesophagus begins eating after surgery at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital

Ahmedabad: A two-and-a-half-year-old child born with a rare congenital condition that left him without a functional oesophagus has begun eating through his mouth after undergoing a complex reconstructive procedure at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, marking another successful outcome for the hospital’s paediatric surgery department, hospital officials said on Sunday.

The child, Mantavya, son of Shailesh Patel of Sanand in Ahmedabad district, was born on November 7, 2023, with Pure Oesophageal Atresia, a rare birth defect in which the two ends of the oesophagus are too far apart to form a continuous food pipe.

Because of the condition, he was unable to swallow milk or food by mouth from birth.

To save his life, surgeons performed an oesophagostomy, creating an opening in the neck, and a gastrostomy, inserting a feeding tube directly into the stomach, on the second day after his birth.

He subsequently received liquid nutrition through the tube while remaining under regular medical follow-up.

Once his nutritional status, weight and overall physical development had improved, doctors scheduled definitive oesophageal reconstruction surgery.

The operation was carried out on July 3 using an advanced gastric pull-up technique, in which the stomach is used to create a new oesophagus.

The surgery was performed by a team led by Rakesh Joshi, Medical Superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and Head of the Paediatric Surgery Department, along with Jayashree Ramji and anaesthesiologists Aditi and Sonal Bhalavat.

Twenty-three days after the operation, Mantavya was able to eat through his mouth for the first time.

Doctors said the child recovered without complications and has since been discharged from hospital in good health.

According to medical data, Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula (TOF) occurs in approximately one in every 2,500 to 4,000 live births.

However, in cases of Pure Oesophageal Atresia, where the two ends of the oesophagus are widely separated, gastric pull-up surgery is considered the only effective reconstructive option and has a reported success rate of 85 to 90 per cent.

Rakesh Joshi said, “This type of surgery requires highly specialised technical expertise and an experienced team. Maintaining the child’s nutritional status and performing the operation at the appropriate time are the keys to success. This advanced surgery, which is considered very expensive in private hospitals, is available free of cost at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. Over the past one year, our team has successfully completed seven such complex cases.”

The child’s parents said they were overwhelmed to see their son eat by mouth for the first time and expressed their gratitude to the doctors and hospital staff involved in his treatment.

IANS