Doctors treat premature baby born at 23 weeks

A baby born at 23 weeks of pregnancy with a rare oesophageal defect has reached its first birthday and is doing well, ORF reports. The child weighed 520 grams at birth and now lives at home with its family.

The tirol kliniken, a network of hospitals, said the baby’s lungs, brain, intestines and other organ systems were still extremely immature at birth. Doctors diagnosed oesophageal atresia, a congenital defect in which the oesophagus is not continuous and may be connected to the windpipe. The clinics said surgery was needed to allow the baby to swallow saliva and feed by mouth.

The combination of the defect and such an early birth is extremely rare, according to the clinics. Several operations were needed to repair the oesophagus. They were carried out on the neonatal intensive care unit rather than in the main operating theatre, to avoid the risks of transporting the extremely premature baby.

The clinics said the child’s oesophagus has been restored and the baby is developing well. Follow-up care and developmental monitoring will continue at the neonatal follow-up clinic in Innsbruck.