From the September update of Russ and Beth White, Tenwek Hospital, Kenya, Africa. Russ is my wife Victoria’s brother. [Click the link to see the complete newsletter.] Dr. White will be the preacher at Saint Francis at the 9 o’clock service November 15th and he will speak at the adult forum afterwards.

Esophageal atresia with tracheo-esophageal fistula is a relatively uncommon condition of newborn babies in which a baby is born with an incomplete esophagus. This means that the baby cannot swallow any milk or even saliva after birth. The condition is further complicated by the fact that the stomach connects abnormally to the lungs. Therefore the baby has the double problem of severe malnutrition and ongoing pneumonia. Repairing this condition requires a delicate operation to recreate continuity between the esophagus and the stomach, and to close the abnormal connection between the trachea and the stomach.

We usually see 3-4 cases per year. They are always a challenge as getting the tiny baby through the surgery is difficult, and then the post-operative care requires very intensive care for up to a week. Many of the babies are small for their age and require mechanical ventilation with a breathing machine. In general on the African continent, survival after this operation is very poor. In fact, in the early years we were at Tenwek, we certainly did not have survival above 50%. In August of this year, Russ operated on three babies with this condition within three weeks (2 were within 2 days!). It was a lot of work for Russ, all the nurses in the nursery, and our surgical residents who helped care for these babies. We were thrilled to see all three of them recover well after surgery and go home!! We thank the Lord for the opportunity to serve these fragile children of God!