Al Qassimi Women and Children’s Hospital saves baby in complex surgery

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Al Qassimi Women and Children’s Hospital in Sharjah, part of Emirates Health Services (EHS), saved the life of an infant who suffered from a rare Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation condition, after his premature birth. The baby was born with abnormal lungs, fluid build-up in the abdomen (ascites) as well as a cyst in the left lung.

After spending ten months of neonatal and paediatric intensive care and medication regimens, a complex surgery was performed successfully and he was discharged from hospital with minimal oxygen and respirator support.

The case was supervised by an integrated multidisciplinary team that was made up from paediatric intensive care, pulmonology, paediatric surgery, ear - nose and throat, anaesthesia, neurology, heart, gastrointestinal system and infectious diseases specialists in addition to the nursing, physiotherapy and rehabilitation staff at the hospital.

The premature baby was diagnosed with the rare condition through an early ultrasound scan during pregnancy. At birth, he required intubation, resuscitation, and mechanical ventilation in addition to being placed for six and a half months in the neonatal intensive care unit where he suffered from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) which developed into a chronic lung disease.

He was further diagnosed with lung hypoplasia and congenital pulmonary airway malformation in the left lung with pulmonary hypertension. The medical team utilised Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist (NAVA) ventilation technology, which is an innovative technology that eliminates high-frequency ventilation support and makes surgery for the affected lung possible, especially as it was classified as almost impossible due to the seriousness and complexity of the infant’s situation.

Two weeks after regulation through NAVA, the decision was made to remove the abnormal cystic left lung, despite the high risks during surgery and the possibility of death during and after surgery. The infant was subjected to a comprehensive, multi-stage treatment plan after the surgery.

This enabled the medical team to follow up his condition around the clock, and address post-operative complications such as pneumothorax, blood infections and hypoxia, by resorting to expert and advanced medical techniques that contributed to his recovery.