Hyderabad’s Rainbow Hospitals, has given a new lease of life to a 22-month old child named Wafi from Oman. The toddler was flown in from Oman in a very critical condition and the experienced surgeons and medical team at Rainbow led-by Dr Mainak Deb and Dr Harish Jayaram, revived the boy through a two-month long battle involving medical treatments and a complicated surgery.
The 22-month-old Wafi was born without a food pipe, a condition called Esophageal Atresia and Tracheo-Esophageal Fistula (EA/TEF), observed in 1 in 5000 births. The affected children generally require surgery to correct the malformation in order to allow feeding and prevent lung damage.
But with Wafi, inspite of surgery, his condition did not get corrected. He underwent multiple endoscopic procedures and two operations in his country, but the problem persisted and he became nutritionally debilitated.
In this backdrop, the Ministry of Health, Sultanate of Oman had emailed Rainbow Hospital with all details and reports of the child’s condition. After receiving nod, parents brought the child from Oman and got him admitted in the Hyderabad hospital on February 2 this year. He was then examined by the team of Paediatric Surgeon - Dr Mainak Deb, Dr Harish Jayaram, Paediatric Intensivists led by Dr Farhan, Gastroenterologist - Dr Prashant Bachina and Paediatric Pulmonologist - Dr Naveen Saradhi.
According to Dr Harish Jayaram, Pediatric Surgeon at Rainbow, the child was severely weak and underweight and it was very risky to perform another operation right away on him at that time. Considering the significant challenges involved in the management, it was decided to nutritionally rehabilitate him through a tube in the stomach, treat his lung infection and prepare him for a very complex and critical operation.
A month later, the boy gained desirable weight and his health condition improved paving way for the complex operation which was done on March 1 by senior surgeons and anaesthesiologists and it lasted for nearly six hours. Post surgery, the child required advanced intensive care with doctors and nurses on his bedside round the clock. He required ventilation for 23 days in the Paediatric ICU where he bravely fought severe infections and also had to undergo an endoscopic procedure to clear pus in his chest.
The child finally came out of the Paediatric ICU hale and hearty following which he was off all tubes and oxygen and was eating normally like any other happy child of his age. He returned to his home country along with parents a few days back.
Sharing his thoughts about the six-hour long gruelling life saving operation, Dr Harish Jayaram pointed out that Rainbow doctors have had the experience of successfully treating similar cases in the past.
“Normally this operation lasts around two hours. Due to multiple procedures done in his home country, initially, in the same area, it was a challenging case for us and hence it took a longer time than usual,” Dr Harish added.
Sharing his delight, Wafi’s father Musallam Ali-Al-Kathri stated that prior operations done on the child were unsuccessful.
“I am really happy that my son is healthy now. He can live a normal life hereafter,” he said, thanking Rainbow hospital and the doctors.