SGH Dubai performs intestinal surgery on one-day-old infant

Dubai / Emirates Business

The pediatric surgery team in Saudi German Hospital Dubai (SGH Dubai) succeeded in saving an infant’s life suffering from a life-threatening gastric and intestinal dilatation.
The medical team that consisted from neonatal intensive care doctors and pediatric surgery doctors did an urgent exploratory operation that ended up successfully.
According to Dr. Kamalish Bal, Pediatric Surgery Specialist, the gastric and intestinal dilatation was diagnosed in the fetus during pregnancy and it was a result of an intestinal obstruction preventing the bowel waste from passing through throughout entire pregnancy. “After birth the baby’s condition worsened rapidly because of dyspnea which is the main cause of deaths in infants. The initial clinical and radiological evaluation was done and revealed the presence of proximal intestinal dilation with diaphragmatic rupture, so the medical team made an urgent surgical intervention immediately because of the increased high risk of intestinal ischemia.”
“During the surgery an ileal atresia was diagnosed, which is a rare condition affecting 1 in 10000 live births. The intestine was repaired using the (chimney) technique very carefully to make sure not to harm any other organ, and the intestinal pressure on the lung was reduced immediately. It was a critical 3 hours long surgery in which the whole multidisciplinary medical team cooperated from the moment of the initial examinations until the baby was finally out of danger,” confirmed Dr Kamalish.
Dr Reem Othman, Hospital CEO, said that Pediatric Surgery Department in Saudi German hospital provides different treatments for simple or complex cases that require surgical interventions by a specialized team for congenital cases or cases which affect children later after birth.”

She also confirmed that this kind of surgeries require the cooperation of a multidisciplinary medical team including surgery, anesthesia and laboratory in addition to intensive care to make sure the suitable treatment and care are provided and to avoid any future complications or recurrences that may affect the child’s life.