A CASE OF NONFUNCTIONING ANTIPERISTALTIC RETROSTERNAL COLIC CONDUIT REPLACED IN-SITU AND SUBSTITUTED WITH AN ISOPERISTALTIC SEGMENT OF ILEUM-CECUM

The authors report the case of a female patient, affected by long-gap oesophageal atresia, who, at 5 months old, was operated on for retrost ernal substitution with a right-transverse antiperistaltic colic segme nt, in her local district hospital. Due to the anomalous position the neooesophagus never worked, and the baby was seriouly dysphagic and fa iled to thrive. For this reason, when she was 11 months old, she was r eoperated in our department. Through a medium sternolaparotomy the ant iperistaltic colon was removed and replaced between the left and right colon; reconstruction was carried out with a retrosternal and isoperi staltic segment of ileo-caecum. The reoperation resolved her problems. This case is reported to confirm the author's opinion that all intest inal conduits must be positioned in the isoperistaltic direction.