Latest update November 11th, 2024 1:00 AM
Jun 11, 2009 News
By Jenelle Carter
A Medical Practitioner has stated that the baby that was delivered at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation last week, does not have “three heads”. Rather, the condition represents a defect in the bones of the skull.
According to Dr. Clive Bowman, who is attached to the Paediatric Medicine Department, the medical term for the baby’s condition is Meningocele.
Meningocele is the protrusion of the membranes that cover the spine and part of the spinal cord, through a bone defect in the vertebral column. This is due to failure of closure during embryonic life of bottom end of the neural tube, the structure which gives rise to the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord).
According to Dr. Bowman, he has seen babies with the defect, but not to this extent. He explained that in this baby’s case due to holes in the baby’s skull, brain tissue and other fluids have protruded into the sacks.
He added that the sack carries no bones and given the fact that the sack is covered with skin it was most natural that hair would have grown on the sack.
Thus, one with no medical knowledge would conclude that the baby was born with two heads.
Dr. Bowman further explained that upon seeing the child, one could also conclude that it is a case of there being a possibility of the baby being one of a set of triplets, but not being able to form properly. However Dr. Bowman said this is not the case.
He added that this defect could have been caused by more than one factor, among them, genetic problems, some infection during pregnancy, and most probably an iron deficiency problem during pregnancy.
Dr. Bowman said that during his years of practice he had seen similar cases, but none were this big.
The chance of survival, Bowman said, is minimal. He added that he is surprised that the baby has survived this long.
Dr. Bowman said corrective surgery isn’t advisable at this time since the doctors are not sure if actual brain tissues are in the sacks that continue to grow. He further explained that there are tests that can be done to determine if indeed brain tissues are in the sack. These tests he said include an MRI or a CT scan.
Since he said he has not been directly involved with treating the child, Dr. Bowman could not say if either of these tests were done.
Dr. Bowman said another challenge doctors who are dealing with the child face is, whether or not the child who is just two months old, can survive general anesthesia.
He however noted that for this to be corrected once there is no brain tissue in the sacks. Doctors can try to reduce the fluids in the sack and then perform surgery. But then again Guyana does not have the expertise to perform the surgery.
“This surgery, if it is to be done… we would need a multi-disciplinary team and a more advanced medical institution,” Bowman stated.
He said as far as he knows, the child was readmitted to the hospital by a Maxillo-facial Surgeon who is dealing with the possibility of corrective surgery for the cleft palate with which the baby was born.
He added that at birth, the hospital team and the mother of the child were engaged in a surgical consultation to discuss their possibilities.
Dr. Bowman said since the child was discharged it was supposed to continue attending clinic at the Georgetown Public Hospital Pediatric Department.
“I don’t know what happened but somewhere along the line there was a breakdown in communication and the child never came to clinic,” Dr. Bowman explained.
He noted that it was only after the story was highlighted that he was made aware that the child was readmitted to the hospital.
He added that the mother must be commended for the stand she took with her baby.
Dr. Bowman said, despite the negative reaction from the woman’s family she insisted on taking her baby home and her willingness to care for and love the child.
“When we saw the child we called in social workers to talk with the mother who in turn was very receptive to the social worker and the hospital team,” Dr. Bowman said.
Some two months ago, the young mother gave birth to the baby girl, which is her first child, via C-section.
Her baby was showed to her some three days after delivery.
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