Media Release

Mangaluru, Nov 30: 2 newborn babies came to Father Muller Medical College Hospital, Kankanady, seeking care. One was a preterm baby born at 30 weeks with a birth weight of 1 kg 700 gram(1.7 kg), the other was a term baby with a birth weight of 2 kg 600 gram (2.6 kg) both having a similar condition called ‘Myelmeningocoele’ which left alone can result in fatal outcomes.
Myelmeningocoele is a condition where the spinal cord has not lodged in the body but is exposed out on the skin of the back.

Both the babies were admitted into the modern NICU offered by the hospital. 4 teams of doctors came together to plan and execute the treatment thereby salvaging the infants. A thorough discussion with the parents resulted in them consenting to the full treatment. With state-of-the-art radiology machines (both Ct and MRI) complete anatomical defect was diagnosed in both the babies.

The doctors from Neurosurgery, Neonatology, Plastic Surgery and Anaesthesiology offered a surgical line of treatment to put back the spinal cord into its place in the body.

Each of the babies went through a 7-hour surgery on the designated day to close the defect and reinstate the spinal cord into the normal site of the body. Post-operatively both the children were closely observed and were managed successfully to their recovery.

Dr Geover Lobo the Neurosurgeon who performed these rare surgeries successfully said, "It was a challenge to make sure every stage of treatment and procedure went on well, accolades to his team. I am also thankful to the parents of the children who understood the need of treatment and co-operated with the treatment." The teams consisted of Dr Praveen and Dr Mario from Neonatology, Dr Balakrishna, Dr Vishma and Dr Ananth from Anaesthesiology and Dr Arvind Rao was the plastic surgeon.

The director, Fr Richard A Coelho and the Father Muller Medical College administrator, Fr Rudolph D’Sa congratulated the team for their efforts in saving and preserving life.