LUTH performs surgery to free 13-day-old child’s esophagus

Doctors at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) have successfully performed surgery on a 13-day old baby to clear her blocked esophagus.

In medical terms, the surgery is referred to as “Thoracoscopic Primary Repair of Esophageal Atresia with Tracheoesophageal Fistula.”

Chief Medical Director at LUTH, Prof Wasiu Adeyemo said the surgery was the first of its kind in any public tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

He stressed that the patient, Dorcas Shola, was referred to the hospital having been diagnosed with the life-threatening health condition thirteen days after birth, adding a minimal surgery was carried out in the chest part of the baby to remove the disease.

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The lead surgeon, Dr Alakaloko Felix, explained that children affected with the disease at birth find it difficult to digest their feed due to the blockage in esophagus, saying lack of proper care could lead to death.

He stated that the symptoms include spilling of breastfeed milk from the children’s nostrils or mouth, saying that the surgery was a herculean task.