Infant Born with 2 Stomachs Undergoes Successful Surgery

July 21, 2009 - PRLog -- It happens very rarely among the newborn but when it does it poses potentially life-threatening medical conditions and requires surgery by a skilled pediatric surgeon and a team of neonatologists to assist in the baby’s recovery. The abnormality is gastro-duodenal duplication— a condition otherwise known as two stomachs— that occurs in only one in 100,000 births.

This is what faced Regina and Victor Arone of Hartsdale when they became parents of a boy delivered at White Plains Hospital Center’s William and Sylvia Silberstein Neonatal & Maternity Center last April. During the pregnancy, sonograms showed there was an abdominal cystic mass. At that point, it was difficult to determine what it might be but the Perinatology team told the expectant parents that though they were concerned, an accurate diagnosis could not be made until the baby was delivered.

Shortly after the delivery of Alex, sonograms and a CT of the stomach showed a cystic structure representing a duplicate stomach that had developed and was attached to the main stomach and duodenum. Doctors believe that gastro-duodenal duplication develops during very early embryologic development as the intestine is being formed.

Peter Liebert, M.D., a senior pediatric surgeon at White Plains Hospital Center, who specializes in treating infants with congenital conditions, said: “The scans showed that the duplicate stomach was pressing down and narrowing the main stomach. Left unattended, the duplicate stomach could obstruct the stomach and possibly cause permanent intestinal damage. I recommended to the parents that we surgically remove the duplicate stomach as soon as possible.”

Mrs. Arone says it was very comforting to know that White Plains Hospital Center’s Neonatal team had the experience and medical resources to care for her infant. “At first, it was very unsettling to know that our infant had been born with a very rare abnormality that none of the other mothers, my family and friends had ever heard of and could discuss with me. My husband and I cannot thank enough the physicians and nurses took the time to explain it and to reassure us.”

During a three and a half-hour procedure, Dr. Liebert successfully removed the duplicate stomach and re-attached the main stomach to the duodenum—the first and shortest segment of the small intestine—for normal functioning.

To protect the “anastomosis” (a surgically created connection between two parts of the intestine), Dr. Liebert placed a gastrostomy tube in the stomach to drain secretions and allow the duodenum to heal. When Alex was seen in Dr. Liebert’s office two weeks later, the tube was removed.

Alex is now eating normally, growing and gaining weight. Dr. Liebert will be following the baby’s progress for several months to make sure that there are no complications.

Jesus Jalie-Marti, M.D., Chief of Neonatology at White Plains Hospital, said: “It is especially noteworthy that such a delicate surgical procedure for a very rare abnormality can be performed successfully at White Plains Hospital Center, where we have expert pediatric surgeons and a team of neonatologists to oversee the baby’s recovery and alleviate the understandable concerns and anxiety of the parents.  With this level of expertise and superb medical resources, expectant parents in the area don’t have to go far to receive the very best pediatric surgical care.”

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White Plains Hospital Center is a 292-bed voluntary, not-for-profit health care organization with the primary mission of offering high quality, acute health care and preventive medical care to all people who live in, work in or visit Westchester County and its surrounding areas. Its Centers of Excellence include the Dickstein Cancer Treatment Center, The William and Sylvia Silberstein Neonatal & Maternity Center, The Ruth and Jerome A. Siegel Stroke Center and The Westchester Orthopedic Institute. The Hospital has the busiest Emergency Department in Westchester County, treating more than 45,000 patients a year. White Plains Hospital Center is a seven-time winner of the Consumer Choice Award, an honor given to the nation’s top hospitals by the National Research Corporation. WPHC is a member of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System and the Stellaris Health Network, Inc. For additional information, visit www.wphospital.org