Pyloric Stenosis

According to my parents, back when I was about 2 weeks old, I couldn't keep anything down. Everything I ate always came back up. They tried different formulas, but to no avail. When they took me to the doctor, they diagnosed it as pyloric stenosis. They performed the surgery with a tiny 1-inch cut, which left a scar just below my right ribs. Now it's a giant 4-inch scar.

Pyloric stenosis is the narrowing of the pylorus, which eventually blocks the contents of the stomach from entering the duodenum. The only way out then is the way it came, sometimes forcefully (think projectiles). The surgical operation to correct pyloric stenosis is pyloromyotomy, where the muscle of the pyloric valve is cut and spread open.

What I didn't know was that it is relatively common, occurring in 2 to 3 in every 1000 babies born in the U.S. and that it may be a genetically linked disorder, though no one in my family has had it to my knowledge.

For more information, visit:
Texas Pediatric Surgical Associates
KidsHealth.org