In Ahmedabad, baby without food pipe survives on dadis’ love

AHMEDABAD: On July 3, Mohammad Umar Malek, 1, took his first spoonful of milk at a city hospital. His simple act brought tears to Khurshida and Sabera Malek, sisters and grandmothers to the child, as it was the culmination of their yearlong ordeal to ensure the child survives, even though he was born without an oesophagus.
Dr Anirudh Shah, a city-based pediatric surgeon, said that Umar, the son of a fruit seller from Kheda, was born with a rare condition – oesophageal atresia (absence of food pipe) and duodenal atresia (blockage between intestine and stomach).“Having one of these conditions is unusual but presence of both is rare. In fact, we could find only 13 such recorded instances. It practically means that the child cannot have food from mouth as the food pipe is not developed at all,” said Dr Shah.
Khursheda and Sabera, both in their 60s, and sisters married to brothers, took it upon themselves to ensure that the child does well even when the doctors said that he had slim chances of survival. On the second day of his life, Umar underwent a surgery where doctors removed the block between stomach and intestine. Doctors also inserted a pipe in his stomach through which he was to take food till his food pipe was constructed. Doctors said that the surgery would be possible only when he attains the age of eight months.
“As his mother was busy with the other child, the two grandmas ensured that the child has his fill every two hours. They keenly learnt how to feed him at the hospital and followed it to the T. Whenever the tube got detached, they informed the family and accompanied the child to the hospital,” said Dr Amar Shah, paediatric surgeon who performed the surgery on Umar. “It was important to maintain his nutrition level and keep him healthy for the timely surgery.” The grandmas took turns to look after the child – Sabera would wake up early and prepare tiffins for the family and then take care of Umar throughout the day. From 8pm, it was Khurshida’s turn to look after Umar while Sabera got some rest.
The surgery lasted for two and a half hours.
The doctors made a tunnel from the abdomen though the chest behind the heart into the neck of the child. The stomach was then pulled up into the tunnel and was connected to the upper end of the food pipe. The team members, including Dr Anirudh Shah, Dr Amar Shah and Dr Pathik Shah, said that it was a high-risk operation, but the child responded well.