They operate on a six-hour-old baby with a malformation in Villa Clara

Cuban doctors successfully operated on a six-hour-old baby who was born with a congenital brain malformation in Villa Clara.

The baby had an encephalocele, a sac-like lump formed outside the cranial cavity through an opening in the skull, sometimes covered with skin (as in this case).

The doctorAngel Camacho Gomez, a specialist in pediatric neurosurgery at the José Luis Miranda hospital, was in charge of the surgery, which lasted approximately an hour.

"They always constitute very complex procedures, because neonatal surgery itself is, and the orifice must be reached, through which the sac emerges from the skull, to ligate the structures and remove it in a very meticulous manner, which is not without its risks." , the doctor told the newspaperVanguard.

The child's abnormality was very close to locations in the brain that are very sensitive. This is particularly dangerous, since if the venous system ruptures, the surgery must be stopped because the bleeding is uncontrollable, so the operation requires great precision.

"If the intervention had not been carried out six hours after birth, the newborn would have had great implications for life. He arrived at the room with a very weak part of the bag and that is where it could have broken, which must be prevented in order to avoid sepsis ( infections) in the central nervous system incompatible with life," he added.

Encephalocele is a rare condition that occurs when the neural tube - which gives rise to the central nervous system - does not completely close during pregnancy.

Among the causes that cause it, the main one is a lack of folic acid. There are others such as radiation, the effect of a medication, trauma, infections and incorrect diets.

At this time, the baby is still admitted to the hospital's neonatal ward, where he is progressing favorably and already weighs eight and a half pounds (3,900 grams).

"Three days after surgery, he was out of critical condition and it is admirable how he tolerates the oral route. Meanwhile, his vital parameters are very adequate, he is breastfed and the surgical results show excellence," said Dr. Viridiana Pérez Méndez. .

The child's malformation was detected at 22 weeks of gestation by his mother, Elizabeth Espinosa Falcón.

The young 23-year-old mother, resident in Remedios and worker at the municipality's polyclinic, revealed that there is no history of this type in her family and that she had a normal pregnancy until the final stage, when preeclampsia (high blood pressure) appeared. This forced her to be admitted and finally she had a cesarean section at 38 weeks.

When she was under the effects of anesthesia from the cesarean section, she was informed that her son had to undergo emergency surgery.

"I almost didn't see the child, only for a few minutes, not knowing what could happen, but something told me that he was in good hands and I trusted a lot in that and in God. It was a moment in which I felt extreme pain in my soul," express.