Chennai, Nov 13:
In a first-of-its-kind procedure in Tamilnadu, an advanced endoscopic procedure, Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM), was performed in an eight-year-old boy diagnosed with Type II achalasia cardia, a rare condition. The disorder affects the nerves controlling the muscles of the food pipe (oesophagus), making it difficult for food and liquids to pass into the stomach. The procedure was performed at Rela Hospital.
The young patient had been experiencing progressively worsening difficulty in swallowing both solid food and liquids. Following the procedure, he made a satisfactory recovery and was able to resume clear liquids, followed by a soft diet, within 24 hours.
In his comments, Dr. SNK Chenduran said, ‘Performing POEM in an eight-year-old child requires considerable technical expertise and precision, as the oesophagus in children is much smaller and narrower than in adults, providing very limited working space to perform the procedure. Further creating a tunnel within the wall of the oesophagus requires meticulous dissection in the correct tissue plane for delicate tissues in children. Despite these challenges, we successfully completed the procedure in approximately 50 minutes. This is an important advancement in offering children with this rare condition an effective, minimally invasive treatment option.’