Pyloric diseases: hypertrophic stenosis

Is the disease in which the pylorus it becomes very narrow so that even if it remains open, the food does not pass from the stomach to the intestine.

The pylorus is the portion of the stomach that serves as a gateway to the intestine and that opens or closes to allow food to pass through. Its function is very important as it allows it to enter the stomach.

In hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, it causes an accumulation of food in the stomach, which cannot pass into the intestine and, consequently vomiting.

It usually manifests itself around three weeks of life.

Causes

The pylorus narrows due to the thickening of the muscular walls that form it. The cause of this progressive narrowing of the stomach outlet is unknown. It seems that an influencing factor is that there is a family history that has suffered it. It has also been seen that more often in first-born males.

Symptoms

As it is a disease of progressive onset; the baby vomits sporadically first in some take. In this first phase the Pediatrician does not usually give importance to it because it is confused with those of most newborns. The baby is looking good.

Over time the number of vomiting will increase and fulfilling very typical characteristics of the disease:

• They happen during or just after the shot
• Vomiting appears in every shot
• They are "jet" vomiting, the contents of the stomach are expelled with great force through the mouth
• The child is very hungry and eagerly and anxiously grasps the bottles or the breast

In this phase, as the vomiting is very frequent and in large quantities, the baby can become dehydrated, malnourished and lose weight.

Treatment

When the disease is suspected, a series of imaging tests to confirm the diagnosis. The most common is an abdominal ultrasound.

Treatment of the hypertrophic pyloric stenosis it is urgent and needs surgery. The surgeon widens the pylorus so that the contents of the stomach pass into the intestine. In most cases very good results are obtained.