• by IPS Correspondents (georgetown)
• Wednesday, November 23, 1994
• Inter Press Service

GEORGETOWN, Nov 23 (IPS) - Doctors at the state-run public hospital in this South American republic have reportedly created history by successfully correcting a rare birth defect in a premature baby.

The state-owned Guyana Chronicle newspaper Wednesday reported that surgeons at the Georgetown Public Hospital, the largest health institution here, described the condition of the 10-day- old infant as "guarded" after a 90-minute operation.

Doctors say the Amerindian baby, born two months before full term, was suffering from the rare "congenital diaphragmatic hernia" defect -- a condition which makes breathing difficult.

Paediatric surgeon, Dr. Dagliesh Joseph, who headed the surgical team says the baby had a hole in the region of the chest.

During the operation the surgeons also discovered that the baby's liver, stomach and spleen had been dislocated.

"After surgery, the child's general condition ..breathing and colouration improved. The child is still in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit), recovering and has already started to feed. From critical, his condition is now considered guarded," said Joseph.

He says this is the first time that the operation to correct the rare condition was successfully completed here, especially with inadequate and obsolete equipment.

Doctors say one in every 5,000 babies is born with the rare condition.

Operations were performed on three babies with similar defect in recent years, but all were unsuccessful.

"If we can save one of these children without essential equipment, then when the equipment becomes available, we will have a reduction in the mortality that occurs in the management of these cases," says Joseph.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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