Bengaluru: The doctors at Sakra World Hospital recently saved the life of a seven-month-old infant from a rare congenital condition known as Ileal Duplication. This condition is a form of gastrointestinal duplication, which is a rare congenital anomaly found in approximately 0.2% of children below two years of age.
In this condition, there is a duplication found in the intestine, which leads to excessive production of digestive juice, thus creating a rupture in the intestine. Seven-month-old Rituraj (name changed) was brought to the emergency department of Sakra World Hospital with breathing difficulty. The initial tests revealed that the child was severely anaemic with the haemoglobin percent of 2gm. In normal conditions, the haemoglobin percent is between the range of 13gm to 16 gm. Due to the anaemic nature and difficulty in breathing, the infant was immediately admitted to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Sakra World Hospital.
“It was in the PICU, upon investigation, the doctors realised that the condition of the infant was deteriorating. The blood pressure reading was consistently low, and the abdomen was tight. If left untreated, we would have lost him within a short span of half an hour. The child was immediately put under mechanical ventilator, IV fluids were administered and resuscitated him,” said Dr. Ravikiran Senior Consultant – Paediatrics, Sakra World Hospital.
Once the condition of the infant was stable, an ultrasound procedure and CT scan was conducted. The ultrasound revealed that the abdominal cavity was filled with fluid while the CT scan revealed that there was a hole in the intestine said, Dr. Anisha Tandon Pediatric Radiologist Sakra World Hospital Post-resuscitation. The infant was taken into surgery wherein the doctors found a lot of pus in the abdominal cavity and the infection was cleared out immediately. Upon the clearance of the infection, the duplication of the intestine was noticed.
Duplication of the intestine is very rare and this was one of the rare scenarios as the entire small intestine was duplicated and not just a portion of it. The extra intestine with an abnormal structure produces lots of acids, which may result in causing injury to the intestine and perforation of the intestine.
The surgical process was far more complex in Rituraj`s case since the doctors had to remove the abnormal intestine without damaging the normal one. Post the surgery, the baby was shifted to the PICU and was kept under ventilation for three days and antibiotics was administered in order to clear up the infection. Normal feeding was resumed after 5-6 days of the surgery. Rituraj recently celebrated his first birthday and his health has improved considerably. His growth has been at par with other children of his age and he has been leading an active life.
