CAMAGÜEY.- 3-year-old Kevin Hernández Acosta, affected of an esophagus atresia, related to a congenital disorder of his esophagus, was benefited with a complex surgical intervention, performed by the Doctor Alfred Maier, from the Medical University of Graz, Austria, in the pediatric hospital Eduardo Agramonte Piña, of this city.

The child submitted to several surgeries, one in the first 24 hours of his birth and the last one, in April, 2016, was feeding by means of a catheter, because he could not do it in a direct way due to the malformation.

By means of this procedure, carried out for the first time here, the esophagus was replaced with part of the child´s own stomach, known as peduncled gastric ascent, by turning that portion into tubular form up to the neck. The advantage of this procedure is that only one suture from that level is required, and he must neither need another intervention later, nor live with limitations, that is, his quality of life will be from now on and after two hours and a half of surgery, like that of any another person, the Professor Maier assured the press.

The Professor had the assistance of the doctors Yudeilys Rodríguez Ávalos and Aldo Arredondo Garateix, specialist in Pediatric Surgery and resident of 4th year of this specialty, and the doctors Carlos A. Fernández Marrero and Georgina Sánchez Andújar, specialists in anaesthesiology and resuscitation, and the Bachelor of Infirmary Silvia Tamayo Rodríguez.

The operation was seen in closed circuit, at real-time, by Physicians of Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Ciego de Ávila, Sancti Spíritus, Las Tunas, Guantanamo and Camagüey, the latter headquarter of the Symposium of Pediatric Thoracic Surgery, which culminated with this surgical act and had its theoretical conference yesterday.

Karel and Yamila, parents of Kevin and other relatives, expressed their deep gratitude to the Cuban health system, as well as to the effort of the direction of Hospital "Eduardo Agramonte", and especially to its staff of pediatric surgery, that capable of organizing the participation of the recognized Austrian surgeon Alfred Maier.

Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez