City-based doctors successfully treated a boy from Kolhapur with Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or acid reflux for 12 years. After undergoing endoscopy it revealed that the patient has a premalignant condition called Barrett's oesophagus which is a serious complication of acid reflux and causes changes in the cells lining your oesophagus (food tube). Doctors said after undergoing laparoscopic fundoplication surgery which lasted for two hours the boy has been able to get rid of acid reflux.
Omkar Santosh Devmore, a 12-year-old boy from Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur district of Maharashtra couldn’t digest food even during his early childhood days. His family consulted various medicos who diagnosed him with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease, or chronic acid reflux) wherein the contents from the stomach move back up into the oesophagus and the problem become more grave as Omkar turned 12 due to which he couldn’t eat, sleep or focus on his studies as he was continuously vomiting.
Dr Roy Patankar, Gastroenterologist and Director of Zen Multispecialty Hospital, Chembur, Mumbai, said the patient started to vomit when he arrived in an emergency and had lost weight, and was on heavy medication. Following this, they repeated the endoscopy to see whether the pre-malignant condition had worsened and also performed other tests to confirm that there was no other cause of vomiting.
An oesophagal manometry test was done to check whether the oesophagus is working properly and measures the pressures of the food pipe. After discussing this with the patient’s parents, he was scheduled to undergo surgery in December.
“The patient successfully underwent laparoscopic fundoplication surgery, the stomach had entered the chest through a hole in the diaphragm. So, the stomach was brought down to the normal position, the hole in the diaphragm was closed with the appropriate size, and made the anti-reflux wall by stitching the stomach around the food pipe. This procedure will prevent him from vomiting and also his refluxes. As with time, Barrett's oesophagus will also go away and the surgery lasted for 2 hours. Not treating him at the right time could have led to weight loss, dehydration, and Barrett's oesophagus problem could have worsened causing cancer,” explained Dr Patankar.
Dr Patanakar further said after getting discharged, the patient was asked to avoid fried food and meat for a month. On follow-up, the patient has gained 3 kilos of weight, had no episodes of vomiting, doesn’t require any medication and has to come for endoscopy after a year.
“The acid reflux problem is on the rise in the general population and the cause behind it is not clear. The symptoms are bloating, burping, sore throat, hoarseness, unintentional weight loss, vomiting, dysphagia, and wheezing. This problem and surgery are unusual in children. In the last 25 years, I have treated only 5 children below the age of 12,” concluded Dr Patankar.
