PUNE: An IT consultant (30) diagnosed with a rare swallowing disorder was able to consume her first solid meal in almost six months, following a complex surgery at a private hospital earlier this month.
The patient, a resident of Pune, would vomit due to her progressive condition, medically termed as achalasia cardia, causing her to lose 16kg in weight over six months, leaving her severely malnourished. Adding to her sufferings, the doctors she consulted initially misdiagnosed her with acid reflux disease.
It was only in early January that she was diagnosed with achalasia cardia, which paved way for her proper treatment. ”When she visited the hospital in the first week of January, she was dehydrated and malnourished, with vomiting as the predominant symptom. For proper diagnosis, we did an endoscopy followed by a barium swallow (an imaging test that checks for problems in your upper gastrointestinal tract, including oesophagus) and manometry (test to sense the pressure and constriction of muscles in the oesophagus),” Dr Kedar Patil, bariatric surgeon, Apollo Spectra Hospital, Pune, said.
The patient was then provided with nutrition intravenously. “It was only then that she underwent a surgical procedure known as Laparoscopic Heller‘s Cardiomyotomy with Toupet fundoplication on January 13.”
“The surgery was challenging as the patient had become too thin, almost the size of an adolescent, leaving less space to operate inside the body. As the surgery was done laparoscopically, there was minimum pain and the patient was on her feet the next day. She was discharged two days after the surgery,” Dr Patil said.
The woman has gained almost 1kg since the surgery. “I was in a shock when I was diagnosed with the rare disorder. I am thankful to the doctors for proper diagnosis. I have had a full meal after six months now.”
The patient, a resident of Pune, would vomit due to her progressive condition, medically termed as achalasia cardia, causing her to lose 16kg in weight over six months, leaving her severely malnourished. Adding to her sufferings, the doctors she consulted initially misdiagnosed her with acid reflux disease.
It was only in early January that she was diagnosed with achalasia cardia, which paved way for her proper treatment. ”When she visited the hospital in the first week of January, she was dehydrated and malnourished, with vomiting as the predominant symptom. For proper diagnosis, we did an endoscopy followed by a barium swallow (an imaging test that checks for problems in your upper gastrointestinal tract, including oesophagus) and manometry (test to sense the pressure and constriction of muscles in the oesophagus),” Dr Kedar Patil, bariatric surgeon, Apollo Spectra Hospital, Pune, said.
The patient was then provided with nutrition intravenously. “It was only then that she underwent a surgical procedure known as Laparoscopic Heller‘s Cardiomyotomy with Toupet fundoplication on January 13.”
“The surgery was challenging as the patient had become too thin, almost the size of an adolescent, leaving less space to operate inside the body. As the surgery was done laparoscopically, there was minimum pain and the patient was on her feet the next day. She was discharged two days after the surgery,” Dr Patil said.
The woman has gained almost 1kg since the surgery. “I was in a shock when I was diagnosed with the rare disorder. I am thankful to the doctors for proper diagnosis. I have had a full meal after six months now.”
