Bhubaneswar: Surgeons at SUM Ultimate Medicare (SUMUM) in Bhubaneswar have successfully treated an infant suffering from severe Laryngomalacia, a congenital softening of the tissues in the larynx.
The four-month-old child was brought to the hospital by the parents as the baby showed signs of severe respiratory distress with chest and neck retractions. The patient was admitted in the pediatric ICU and kept under the treatment of Dr Ajay Kumar Gahan.
After the parents informed that the baby had multiple similar aggravated chest retractions since birth, a flexible bronchoscopy was done by Dr Radhamadhab Sahu, Senior Consultant and Head of ENT and Skull Base Surgery.
The test revealed that the baby was suffering from severe Laryngomalacia, a condition in which floppy tissue above the vocal cords fall into the airway when the baby breathes resulting in noisy breathing, known as Stridor.
As the baby required oxygen support and developed pneumonia as well, it was decided to conduct a surgical procedure known as Supraglottoplasty as recommended by Dr Sahu. After prolonged discussion, minimal invasive endoscopic airway surgery was conducted by Dr Sahu and his team with anaesthesist Dr Sabyasachi Tripathy.
The baby was kept in the ICU for a few days and now does not have any respiratory distress. The parents expressed their happiness after the baby’s recovery.
Dr Sahu said Laryngomalacia was mild in about 80% cases but was severe in rest cases. The infants having the disease suffer from noisy breathing and are unable to take feed and grow. They also exhibit chest and neck retraction and apneic spells with blue lips.
The surgery was done free of cost in the hospital under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) scheme.
