Doctors' out-of-box idea helps 13-year-old overcome birth defect

Bengaluru: Thirteen-year-old Harsh (name changed) would often get urinary tract infections and require regular medications to ease the suffering. The teen's self-esteem got shattered and social life went haywire.

The reason is Myelo Meningocele (MMC), a congenital defect in which a developing baby's spinal cord fails to develop properly.

A new-born with MMC gets swelling at the lower back and Harsh was no exception. He underwent a surgery to remove the swelling containing nerves at the age of one year. "The risk of removing the swelling lies in the fact that over a period of time the nerves attached to this site start having a pulling effect and the affected child may start developing weakness in both legs and lose control over the bladder and bowel movements," said Dr AnilKumar, Senior Consultant and HOD, Paediatric Surgery, Sakra World Hospital.

While the first nine years post the removal of the swelling did not seem that difficult for Harsh, life became very hard for him during the last one year before meeting Dr Anil Kumar. He started losing control over his urinary bladder and was not able to urinate properly. He kept on storing the urine in the bladder and suffered from repeated urinary infection, urine leaking, swelling of kidney and ureter which was threatening to damage his kidneys. Continuous urinary infection was not good for his health and the damage to his kidneys became life-threatening and the risk factor of various other health complications was high.

The doctor added, "It was at this point of time when he was brought to us and our team of doctors worked on his condition till we decided to conduct a unique procedure on him - Laparoscopic Appendicovesicostomy, a procedure where the appendix is used to connect the urinary bladder to umbilicus (navel)."

"The surgery was a done laparoscopically where key holes were made on his body. That's where the uniqueness of the procedure lies. I used the appendix and connected it to his bladder through the umbilicus. All he has to do now is to go to the restroom at regular intervals, use the tube to empty urine."

Explaining the merits of this procedure, Dr Anil says: "No big cut was made on the abdomen, hence, cosmetic appearance is good. Also, post-operative recovery has been faster. Besides, the clinical outcome has been excellent. The child is no longer facing any difficulty in passing urine and is able to empty his urinary bladder at frequent intervals. The risk of repeated urinary tract infection is not there, hence, he is keeping healthy and fit. Also, there's no pressure effect on his kidneys anymore, thereby no risk of damage to his kidneys," the doctor explained.

Post surgery, Harsh is doing fine and has been able to come out of the long trauma that he suffered due to his inability to safeguard his social image like his peers. He has regained his normal life, attending school and social functions.