Maria David
A BABY boy was born with a rare condition of a ruptured nasal bridge encephalocele at Okongo Hospital.
Encephalocele is a rare type of birth defect of the neural tube that affects the brain. The neural tube is a narrow channel that folds and closes during the third and fourth weeks of pregnancy to form the brain and spinal cord.
However, this has now left some family members with questions about what the way forward is to assist the little infant.
Megameno Andreas, aunt of the newborn, said that the baby was born on the 20th of December 2023 at Okongo Hospital and was transferred to Oshakati State Hospital on the 21st of December 2023 for further medical treatment.
However, Andreas indicated that after several days in the hospital, the mother and baby were discharged on Monday and told to return to Okongo Hospital.
“We don’t understand as the family why the baby will be transferred back to the same hospital for treatment,” she said.
Medical Superintendent at Oshakati, Dr. Ruben Kanime, said he is aware of the baby’s condition, for palliative care because neurosurgeons said there is nothing that they can do; they can operate on the baby to push the brain back into the skull.
“We are sending you to the nearest hospital for palliative care, not home,” he said.
He added that this is frontal encephalocele, and depending on the extent of brain involvement, it can be corrected surgically.
Kanime indicated that they sometimes buy time for the baby to gain weight and tissue for the repair to be much more feasible.
He added that the parents and relatives were called in for counselling and informed about the baby’s condition.
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