They only have a few days of life, but have already faced and won a battle that would put even the strongest tests. Two babies, affected by a very rare form of intestinal malformation, Type IIIB fasting atresia- also known as “Apple- peel” For the particular conformation of the intestine reminiscent of the peel of an apple – they were Saved thanks to two delicate surgical interventions performed at the “Pugliese-Ciaccio” hospital in Catanzaro.
The young patients, operated on only four days from each other, successfully passed the operations carried out a few hours after birth and today, finally, they can return home with their families. A goal that deeply excited not only the parents, but also all the medical and nursing staff involved.
«The greatest fear is now behind it. The most beautiful gift is to be able to return home with our son, “he says, with the voice broken by the emotion, the thirty -year -old mother of one of the newborns.
«We will spend the next few days in the family, among the hugs of the relatives who could not wait to know him. Hope has never abandoned us, even if we were aware of the risks ».
The first of the two babies, born prematurely at the 35th week of gestation, presented the most complex form of the pathology, which involves an abnormal interruption of the tenuous intestine and an extreme fragility of the digestive system, incompatible with life without immediate intervention. The malformation had already been suspected in the second trimester of pregnancy, when the mother, residing in a small center of the province of Reggio Calabria, had been addressed to the specialist departments of the “Renato Dulbecco” university hospital.
At the pregnancy clinic at risk (Gar), the woman was carefully followed by the obstetrics and gynecology departments directed by Professor Zullo (for the university part) and by Dr. Pullano (for the hospital part). After the worsening of the clinical situation in the last few weeks of gestation, the birth has been urgently performed with cesarean cut at the Locri hospital. From there, the immediate activation of the hospital network and the multidisciplinary team of neonatology and pediatric surgery of the “Pugliese-Ciaccio” hospital started.
Transferred promptly to Catanzaro, the newborn was stabilized and subjected to surgery on 13 May. After a period of hospitalization at the neonatal intensive care, directed by Dr. Giovanni Sica, the baby was discharged in good clinical conditions.
“The intervention has been corrective and the child will have an almost normal life,” explain the doctors. To underline the importance of early diagnosis was also Dr. Giuseppe Raiola, director of the maternal-child department of the Aou “Renato Dulbecco”:
“It is possible to identify early and manage these complex maternal-fetal pathologies in an adequate and competent way”.
“Today, these two babies represent a double story with a happy ending – continued Raiola – two lives that have had an uphill start, but which, thanks to the efficiency of the hospital network and the commitment of doctors and nurses, can now look at the future with hope”.
Dr. Raiola also recalled the crucial role of the anesthesiologist in the intraoperative management of these delicate cases: “guarantee safety, effectiveness and comfort is fundamental in so complex procedures”.
Dr. Simona Carbone, extraordinary commissioner of the Hospital-University “Renato Dulbecco”, who reiterated: «It is essential to recognize these malformations during pregnancy, also agrees. Only in this way can the birth be programmed in equipped structures and with specialized teams capable of promptly dealing with all phases: from childbirth, to surgery, up to post-operative management ».
Two small warriors, two families who return to hope, and a health care that – when well organized and competent – can really make a difference.