Dr. A.K. Singal MBBS (Gold Medalist), DNB, MNAMS
M.CH (AIIMS, Gold Medalist)
Stecker Scholar Pediatric Urology (USA)
M.CH (AIIMS, Gold Medalist)
Stecker Scholar Pediatric Urology (USA)
After seeing their baby suffer from a fatal and rare defect, a couple from Panvel finally brought their little bundle of joy home after he was successfully cured through laparoscopy
Uday and Shanta Patil of Dighati village of Panvel were seen rejoicing when they found their little one-and-half-month-old baby boy able to drink his regular dose of milk without any discomfort. Their baby Sahil was born with a very rare congenital defect, (medically called ‘Gastric- Volvulus’).
This uncommon defect causes the stomach to loosely bond inside the abdomen in an upside down position. And as soon as food is consumed, it has a tendency to flip.
“Every time my son has milk or water, his tummy starts to swell and he starts to vomit. We took him to all the local doctors; even a sonography was carried out, but nothing could be diagnosed. Then we went to Mahatma Gandhi Mission (MGM) Kalamboli and Dr Arbinder Singal advised us to go for the operation,” said Shanta.
Dr Arbinder Singal, a specialist in Pediatric Urology and surgery (USA) performed the laparoscopic surgery at the hospital, and within a matter of three days, the baby could consume milk comfortably.
When the New Bombay Plus team visited the hospital, Dr Singal explained, “Pediatric laparoscopy or laparoscopic surgery for children is a new and an upcoming specialty and this has been possible due to the availability of necessary equipments and other means of technology.”
The surgeon, a resident of Vashi, who has performed 30 major laparoscopic surgeries on children in Navi Mumbai added, “When I first examined the baby, I thought he was suffering from a common problem of Pyloric Stenosis, which is mostly found among newborns with symptoms of vomiting.
But when the Barium x-ray test was done, we diagnosed Gastric Volvulus. This sort of surgery is the first one to be conducted in the city and the second case in India. I think our focus should be on creating awareness that laparoscopic surgery can be done among children with successful results.”
Dr Kalyani Sen, the medical superintendent said, “Our aim is to develop our neo natal care unit into a highly sophisticated department, as we recently got a qualified and experienced team of pediatric surgeons in our hospital. In this case, the cost of the surgery (excluding medicines) was totally borne by the hospital because the parents could not afford it. Above all, this is an unique case that could be discussed in the academic field among students also.”
The total procedure of the surgery was assisted by Dr Vandana Jawalkar, Dr Jeetendra Gavane and Dr Ravindra Patel. When the director of the institute, Dr Nitin Kadam, was contacted, he said, “With the advent of laparoscopic surgery, there should not be any reason to subject these children to extensive open surgeries if the same can be done laparoscopically.
We have an extensive plan to expand our pediatric and neo natal intensive care units. Apart from this, five more state-of-the-art operation theatres with an addition of 150 beds for adult intensive care units will also commence by August 1. A cardiology department will also shortly be opened with the facilities to conduct cardio-vascular and thoracic surgeries.”
