A two-and-a-half-year-old child born with a rare congenital condition that left him without a functional oesophagus has started eating through his mouth after undergoing a complex reconstructive surgery at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, hospital officials said on Sunday.
The child, Mantavya, son of Shailesh Patel from 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 since birth.
To save his life, doctors 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 was subsequently fed liquid nutrition through the feeding tube while remaining under regular medical follow-up.
After his nutritional status, weight and overall physical development improved, doctors planned a definitive oesophageal reconstruction surgery.
The procedure was performed on July 3 using an advanced gastric pull-up technique, in which the stomach is used to create a new oesophagus.
The surgery was carried out by a team led by Dr. Rakesh Joshi, Medical Superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and Head of the Paediatric Surgery Department, along with Dr. Jayashree Ramji and anaesthesiologists Dr. Aditi and Dr. Sonal Bhalavat.
Twenty-three days after the surgery, Mantavya was able to eat through his mouth for the first time.
Doctors said the child recovered without complications and was discharged 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 85–90 per cent.
Dr. Rakesh Joshi said the surgery requires highly specialised expertise and an experienced team, adding that maintaining the child's nutritional status and performing the operation at the right time are crucial for success.
He noted that while the procedure is expensive in private hospitals, it is provided free of cost at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, where the team has successfully performed seven such complex surgeries over the past year.
The child's parents expressed gratitude to the doctors and hospital staff, saying they were overwhelmed to see their son eat by mouth for the first time.
With Inputs From IANS
