Timely surgery saves girl born with rare gastrointestinal defects

 Liliane Mambo delivered her baby girl a month after her husband had passed away in a tragic car accident. But soon after her delivery, doctors informed the 31-year-old assistant project manager from Cameroon that the newborn had serious gastrointestinal defects.

“I was nine months’ pregnant when my 35-year-old husband passed away in a traffic accident. For me, the little baby I was carrying became my entire world. So when I was told that she needed surgery even before I had recovered from the delivery, I was in complete despair,” Mambo told Gulf News.

Mambo’s daughter, Anaya, was born with a congenital defect known as oesophageal atresia. The upper part of her oesophagus, which carries food from the mouth to the stomach, was disconnected from her stomach, preventing food from reaching the organ. In addition, the lower part of the oesophagus was connected to her windpipe, which caused air to pass from her windpipe to her stomach while also allowing stomach acid to pass to her lungs. Anaya was also born with an abnormal connection between her rectum and vagina, and an imperforated anus.

“Without immediate treatment, these conditions would cause long-term health problems and even threaten the child’s life. She would not have been able to swallow, and could easily choke,” said Dr Ameen Al Gohary, paediatric surgery consultant at the Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi.

Just a little after 12 hours of being born, Anaya was therefore taken in for surgery. The corrective procedures were performed on a heated table, and took about two hours.

“My daughter recovered well, and I was able to take her home on Christmas Day,” Mambo said.

A month later, another surgery was performed at the hospital to repair her imperforated anus.

“After my husband of three years passed away, my parents were with me through it all, and today, my little girl is a normal three-month-old who brightens my life,” Mambo said.

“My husband and I picked her name, which means ‘gift of God’, and that is exactly what she is for me,” she added

source : gulfnews