Tag Archives: intestines

Parents 'ready to fight for our baby' with rare birth defect

When Lenne Parsons of Kennewick gives birth to her baby in October, she won’t get to do the things most new mothers relish.

She won’t get to hold her baby, or feed it, or sing it a soft lullaby. instead, her baby will be whisked immediately away for surgery to repair a rare birth defect.

The defect is a type of hernia called gastroschisis, and it means her unborn baby has a hole in its abdomen that has allowed its intestines to protrude from its belly. It is seen in about 1,900 babies born each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

No one really knows why the defect happens. It’s most commonly seen in young mothers in their teens or early 20s, according to the Fetal Treatment Center at the University of California, San Francisco, which pioneered fetal surgery techniques for the defect.

Lenne, 27, and her husband, Travis, found out about the defect when they went to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland for an ultrasound to find out whether their third child would be a boy or a girl.

They knew something was wrong when their doctor’s face turned white.

“At first we cried a lot. now we’re ready to fight for our baby,” Lenne said.

The couple are working with a team of doctors in Richland and Seattle to prepare for their child’s entrance into the world.

The plan is for Lenne to give birth by cesarean section Oct. 4 at a Seattle hospital — they haven’t yet decided which one — and for the baby to immediately be taken to Seattle Children’s Hospital for surgery by a team of experts in caring for newborns.

Lenne will have about a week of recovery from her own surgery before she will be able to see her baby. the baby will spend anywhere from one to five months at Seattle Children’s before it’s strong enough to come to Kadlec for the remainder of its recovery.

The baby’s intestines will be covered with a plastic bag and slowly and gently squeezed back into the abdomen over several days until it’s completely inside and surgeons can repair the hole. It’ll likely take several more weeks for the baby’s bowels to function normally.

Doctors and nurses will have to give the baby antibiotics to fight possible infections, and pay close attention to its temperature, as the opening will allow heat to escape from its fragile body, according to the National Institutes of Health website.

And that’s just the start. Lenne said the baby may have to be intubated for up to a year to release potentially damaging gastric acid, and it could face having part of its intestines resected if the amniotic fluid has caused damage or scarring.

But the National Institutes of Health report that babies with gastroschisis have good chances for recovery if doctors can repair the hole.

“We’re trying to stay positive,” Lenne said. “It’s all a mystery, even the sex of the baby. we have to wait until it’s born. everything is a surprise.”

To help the parsons family:

Travis Parsons has health insurance through his job that will cover some of the expenses, but the family is trying to raise money for any medical bills not covered by insurance and for the cost of staying in Seattle while the baby is in the hospital.

An account has been opened at Numerica Credit Union under the name “Baby Parsons Fundraiser Account,” and friends and family members have organized car washes this month and August and a booth at the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo, where they will pass out information about gastroschisis and sell homemade lime green beaded bracelets — the color of the defect’s awareness ribbon.

Car washes are planned from 10 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Arby’s on Clearwater Avenue in Kennewick, July 28 at Pizza Hut on Vineyard Drive in Kennewick and Aug. 4 at Verizon on Clearwater.

– Michelle Dupler: 582-1543; mdupler@tricityherald.com

Parents 'ready to fight for our baby' with rare birth defect

LAP-BAND Surgery Should Only Be Considered After Other Weight Loss Options Fail, Southern California Bariatric Surgeon Warns

LAP-BAND Surgery Should only Be Considered after Other Weight Loss Options Fail, Southern California Bariatric Surgeon Warns

Only after attempting to lose weight through diet and exercise should people look to LAP-BAND requirements to see if surgery may be an option.

Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) July 31, 2012

People flock to Southern California for the latest in cosmetic procedures to look their best. However, bariatric surgery is not in the same category as plastic surgery, said Los Angeles LAP-BAND surgeon Dr. Shahram Salimitari. while it can be part of a weight loss method for those who have tried other techniques without success, it involves major lifestyle changes and is not a quick fix.

The LAP-BAND, or laparoscopic adjustable gastric band, is a long-term implant. It differs from gastric bypass surgery because it is reversible and requires no rerouting of the intestines or stapling of the stomach. The LAP-BAND device is an inflatable silicone ring which is placed around the upper portion of the stomach, similar to a watch around a wrist, creating a small pouch which limits the amount of food that can be consumed. by discouraging overeating, patients can lose approximately one to two pounds per week by adhering to changes in dietary habits and lifestyle, and with monitoring by a physician and a nutritionist.

“Before considering getting the LAP-BAND, it is important to be dedicated to a weight loss plan through diet and exercise, as supervised by a physician,” said Dr. Salimitari, adding that there is an extensive screening process prior to approval for bariatric surgery. this process includes a psychological evaluation to ensure the potential patient has no conditions which may undermine treatment, such as bulimia or a personality disorder.

According to federal statistics, nearly 20 percent of U.S. adults are moderately obese, or have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 to 35. BMI is a height-to-weight ratio which determines whether a person is underweight, normal weight, or overweight. Another ten percent of Americans are severely obese with a BMI of 35 or above, and approximately half or more of those people have an obesity-related health condition. Obesity frequently goes hand in hand with conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or sleep apnea.

Medical guidelines set by the National Institutes of Health say patients eligible for LAP-BAND surgery must be approximately 100 pounds overweight or have a BMI of 40. Patients with a BMI of 35 are considered as candidates if they have an obesity-related condition. in addition, eligibility requirements include a commitment to serious lifestyle changes after surgery and the need to be monitored by a surgeon, nutritionist and sometimes a psychotherapist.

“The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery recommends nonsurgical weight loss programs prior to pursuing weight loss surgery,” said Dr. Salimitari. “It should be a last resort for those who need this operation, as it carries potential risks, which include death, and includes long-term behavior modification.”

Risks of the LAP-BAND procedure according to Allergan, the makers of the LAP-BAND, include band slippage, erosion and deflation, reflux, obstruction of the stomach, dilation of the esophagus, infection or nausea and vomiting. Reoperation may be required to address these problems.

For more information about the LAP-BAND, visit the Allergan website at http://www.lapband.com.

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LAP-BAND Surgery Should Only Be Considered After Other Weight Loss Options Fail, Southern California Bariatric Surgeon Warns

Custom-Made Lab-Grown Organs May Be In Sight

Then, when an organ becomes available, and is ostensibly a match, there is always the risk that the body rejects the organ – an uncomfortable, painful ordeal that can mean that the entire process may need to start all over again.

With the organ transplant list so fraught with heartbreak, there may come a point where the time needed to grow an organ is less than the time spent waiting on the organ transplant list.

While it may sound like science fiction, scientists are well on their way to achieving this reality. In Sweden, a group of scientists have created a custom-made vein to transport blood from a girl’s liver to her intestines that has operated for a year, and is still going strong. In Japan, researchers implanted livers grown from human cells into mice. they work just as how they would in humans. In 1998, Dr. Anthony Atala was part of a team that implanted a bladder into children, created from cells collected from the children themselves. the cells gathered amounted to the size of a postage stamp, and the children still have these bladders.

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But science still has a way to go to reach the aspirations these hopefuls have. Scientists do best currently with flat, simple structures, like skin, which consists of only one type of cell. Scientists can also create tubal structures involving two cell types, like blood vessels. Most recently, scientists have been able to create hollow organs like the stomach, which consists of two cell types but has a more complicated shape. Solid organs, however, like the kidney elude scientists right now. they contain many cell types, and require more blood vessels to stay alive than an organ like the stomach. Dr. Atala was part of a team that, in 2010, successfully created a solid liver, but it has not yet been tested on humans.

Dr. Atala’s team announced that they have successfully created “scaffolds” out of pig kidneys, which can one day be used to engineer new kidneys for human patients in the Annals of Surgery. While this is a bold new step, the use of pig organs for human bodies is not a new one – pig heart valves have been used in place of human heart valves for years. This advance paves the way for a solution in organ donation. There are currently 90,000 patients waiting on the organ transplant list for kidneys.

Regardless, doctors and studies in the field hold out hope, and conduct many different studies. With a custom-made organ, there runs no risk of a dreaded organ rejection – and patients are guaranteed a match.

Published by Medicaldaily.com

Custom-Made Lab-Grown Organs May Be In Sight

Deadly but Unknown: Peripheral Artery Disease

KIDS WITH INTESTINAL FAILURE: When a child’s intestines can’t absorb enough water and nutrients from food to provide for growth and development children experience intestinal failure. normally, the small intestine absorbs most of the nutrients and water in the foods we eat. Sometimes the small intestine doesn’t work properly due to injury or disease or because part has been removed to treat another problem, such as gastroschisis. in these cases, a child may not have enough functioning small intestine to absorb the nutrition they need. SOURCE: (www.seattlechildrens.org)GASTROSCHISIS: Gastroschisis is a birth defect in which an infant’s intestines stick out of the body through one side of the umbilical cord – it is a type of hernia. Babies with this condition have a hole in the abdominal wall. the child’s intestines usually stick out (protrude) through the hole. Surgery is needed to correct this birth defect. a surgeon will put the bowel back into the abdomen, if the surgery is successful, over time, the herniated intestine falls back into the abdominal cavity, and the defect can be closed. SOURCE: (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) SHORT BOWEL SYNDROME (SBS): SBS is the most common form of intestinal failure. Children with SBS have had at least half of their small intestine removed to treat a disease, injury or problems with the intestine that is present at birth (congenital). for example, the small intestine might be abnormally short at birth, a section of the bowel might be missing, or the bowel does not form completely before birth (intestinal atresia). SOURCE: (www.seattlechildrens.org); (www.my.clevelandclinic.org)  SYMPTOMS: Symptoms of SBS vary, they may include: Diarrhea, bloating, having excessive gas and/or foul-smelling stool, poor appetite, weight loss or inability to gain weight, fatigue, and vomiting. SOURCE: (www.my.clevelandclinic.org)TREATMENT: a variety of treatments are used to relieve symptoms of SBS. the child’s diet may be changed in order to absorb nutrients correctly. other treatments may include an intestinal transplantation, in which a new small intestine is transplanted into the patient. This may be considered for patients who have frequent, severe bouts of diarrhea or other more serious complications of short bowel syndrome. the child may also take various medications to slow down the normal movement of the intestine (lengthens the time nutrients spend in the small intestine) or they may need total parenteral nutrition (TPN). SOURCE: (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/); (www.my.clevelandclinic.org)  TOTAL PARENTERAL NUTRITION (TPN): TPN is used for children who cannot eat their food by mouth. It is a method of providing nourishment while bypassing the digestive system. TPN solution contains a mixture of fluids and nutrients, such as protein, fats, sugars, and essential vitamins and minerals. the solutions are given intravenously (through a large vein into which a catheter, a flexible plastic tube, has been inserted.). TPN is given over 10 to 12 hours or sometimes longer; infants and children usually receive this type of solution while sleeping. Some children must remain on TPN indefinitely. serious complications can occur when this form of nutrition is used over the long term, such as infection at the site where the catheter is inserted, formation of blood clots, and liver damage. despite the risk of complications, TPN can be lifesaving in children and adults unable to take in appropriate nutrition through their gastrointestinal tract. SOURCE: (www.my.clevelandclinic.org)BREAKTHROUGH STUDY: Children who have complex digestive conditions that do not allow them to eat by mouth may be good candidates for a new treatment called Intestinal rehabilitation (IR). IR is the process of restoring intestinal function through diet, medication and non-transplant surgical therapies. Some children can be weaned off TPN with IR. the goal of IR is to eliminate TPN and prevent the need for intestine transplant whenever possible.  SOURCE: (www.seattlechildrens.org)

Deadly but Unknown: Peripheral Artery Disease