"This kind of crying is obviously not normal."
With this statent, all the family mbers present were stunned.
They had twins, and they originally thought one of them was healthy, which had been a small consolation.
Unexpectedly, both had problems. And for the one they had believed to be healthy, they still didn’t know what the issue was. This was incredibly frustrating.
Finally, it was the woman in childbirth’s mother-in-law who asked Du Heng, "Doctor, what’s wrong with this child?"
Du Heng took a deep breath, his expression becoming very serious. "I’ll examine him again."
After saying that, Du Heng began to examine the child once more.
And this ti, it seed Du Heng had made a discovery.
His hand, taking the pulse, remained motionless for a long ti. It rested quietly on the child’s wrist, and no matter how the child cried and squird, Du Heng kept a firm hold on the tiny hand, preventing it from moving.
Lack of qi and blood? Blockage of the Yangming ridian?
Du Heng slowly released the child’s wrist, but his furrowed brow did not relax in the slightest.
The Yangming ridian is one of the six ridians of the hands and feet. It includes the Hand Yangming Large Intestine ridian and the foot yang brightness stomach channel, both of which are ridians very strong in qi and blood.
But now...
Could it be a problem with his gastrointestinal system?
But how could a three-day-old newborn have gastrointestinal problems?
With doubts in his heart, Du Heng turned and asked, "What have you all been feeding the child?"
All the family mbers shook their heads in confusion. The mother, her voice trembling, said, "I’ve been worried about the younger twin, and my milk supply has been a bit insufficient, so I’ve been supplenting this one with so formula."
With that, she nudged her husband beside her. "Quickly, take out the formula and let the doctor see."
The dumbfounded husband, as if waking from a dream, fumbled in the bag and took out the formula, babbling, "Oh, oh, oh."
Du Heng glanced at it. It was a very common infant formula, readily available on the market; there was no problem with it.
The child’s incessant crying filled his ears. Du Heng gently pressed his hand on the baby’s stomach, massaging clockwise. He then turned to the mother and asked, "How’s your physical condition? Did you get examined at the Provincial Won and Children’s Hospital?"
"I did, I had all the tests. There’s nothing wrong with ."
This ti, her husband didn’t need to be reminded; he directly took out the mother’s examination report.
Du Heng received it with one hand and flipped through it on the hospital bed. He found no problems.
Just then, as Du Heng continued to massage the child’s stomach, the baby’s crying gradually subsided.
Du Heng sighed. That’s right, he thought, the child’s gastrointestinal system has problems.
He imdiately asked the final question, "Has the child had a bowel movent in these few days?"
"Yes."
"How many tis? What was it like?"
"Once a day. He hasn’t had one today yet. It was yellow and watery, like milk."
So, only twice then, Du Heng thought.
Du Heng looked speechlessly at the family mbers before him.
A newborn baby, only three days old, having only one bowel movent a day—didn’t they realize sothing was wrong?
And the Provincial Won and Children’s Hospital? Didn’t they realize it either?
However, the Provincial Won and Children’s Hospital was incredibly busy, with doctors and nurses constantly rushed off their feet. The situation was most extre in the Obstetrics Departnt: won who had a cesarean section were discharged in five days, and those who had a natural delivery were discharged within three. Even so, the number of temporary beds in their obstetric hallways never decreased.
Such a situation was unthinkable in the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital.
But this was no excuse for their negligence.
For a baby up to two months old, the entire digestive system is still developing and adapting. Normal bowel movents occur five to six tis a day, sotis even seven to eight tis. Once a day is clearly not right.
Du Heng had a suspicion. After taking a shallow breath, he called the nurse beside him, "Please bring the needle tool kit."
The nurse made a trip to the doctor’s office and brought back what Du Heng needed.
After receiving the items, Du Heng said, "I’ll need your help again. Please call Director Liu from the Pediatrics Departnt over."
The nurse left again, and Du Heng took out the longest fine needles.
After disinfecting them, Du Heng began to insert the needles into the child’s abdon, under the terrified gazes of the family mbers.
Director Liu, who was actually Deputy Director Liu, arrived very quickly.
However, when she saw Du Heng focused on administering the needles, she simply stood aside, not wanting to disturb him.
Du Heng paid no mind to Deputy Director Liu beside him, concentrating solely on carefully controlling the fine needles in his hand.
Before long, there was a soft SQUELCH from the diaper, followed by a foul sll.
Du Heng slowly removed the needle utensils from the child’s abdon and handed them to Deputy Director Liu. Then, he opened the child’s diaper himself.
The stool was watery, but not yellow as the family had described. Instead, it was yellowish with a hint of red and so black, and contained so viscous, mucus-like substances.
"Pus?" Deputy Director Liu imdiately noticed the difference.
Du Heng nodded. "That’s right."
He then stepped aside and said to the parents, "Clean the child."
Deputy Director Liu handed the needles she was holding to the nurse behind her, then turned to Du Heng and asked, "Dean, what’s the situation?"
"This is a three-day-old newborn. I suspect a digestive tract malformation," Du Heng said, not hiding anything from the family. "Once the child is cleaned, take him for an examination."
Dr. Liu gave Du Heng a deep look and then nodded in agreent.
The child was soon changed into a new diaper. In the arms of his aunt (his father’s sister), he was carried out by Deputy Director Liu. The baby’s paternal and maternal grandmothers also went with them.
The baby’s father seed to regain so composure. He tightly embraced his wife and asked, "Doctor, what kind of condition is a digestive tract malformation? Is it serious?"
Du Heng wasn’t in a hurry to leave, as he needed to wait for the child’s check-up results. He casually answered, "Digestive tract malformation encompasses many conditions, affecting the entire stomach and intestines. We need to wait for the specific results. If it is indeed a malformation, as long as it’s discovered early, surgical intervention can be perford, and it shouldn’t be a major problem."
At this ti, Xiao Li, who had gone to prepare, returned. Du Heng directly helped Xiao Li start treating the other twin.
The wait was agonizing, especially for the mother. It was an excruciating experience.
While Du Heng treated the other twin, the mother’s gaze kept flitting between that child and the doorway. The look on her face, struggling to hold back tears, made Du Heng feel very uncomfortable as well.
Only after the treatnt for the other twin was complete, everything was tidied up, and the Decoction dicine had been administered, did Deputy Director Liu return with the family mbers.
Du Heng, who had also grown anxious, asked, "How is it?"
Deputy Director Liu looked at Du Heng with renewed admiration. "Pyloric malformation."
The pylorus is the part connecting the stomach and the duodenum; it can also be seen as the stomach’s exit. Pyloric malformation refers to the deformation or narrowing of this area.
"Congenital?"
"Yes, congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis."
Du Heng let out a gentle sigh.
Deputy Director Liu handed Du Heng the inspection sheet she was holding. However, Du Heng didn’t look at it, instead passing it directly to the parents.
Deputy Director Liu looked at Du Heng and then at the family. "Your child’s condition isn’t severe at the mont. It’s currently manifesting only as difficulty passing stool, so it’s not easily detected. As parents, you might mistake the child’s fussiness for normal behavior and overlook this problem. However, by four to five months, or even six to seven months, the child’s condition would worsen. Symptoms would include vomiting and dehydration, leading to decreased urine output, dry skin, weight loss, and potentially even gastric retention and kidney function damage. You should thank President Du. The earlier the problem is found and treated, the less harm the child will suffer."
The mother’s eyes flickered, and she cautiously asked, "Doctor, how should it be treated?"
"Your child has congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. Only surgery can correct it," Deputy Director Liu answered confidently. However, after speaking, she felt it might have been presumptuous and quickly glanced at Du Heng.
What if Du Heng says he can treat it conservatively? That would be awkward, she thought.
But she was overthinking. Du Heng imdiately continued, "If the condition were caused by acquired lesions, conservative treatnt might be possible. However, for a congenital disease like this, surgical operation is the only way to correct it."
After a slight pause, he looked around at the family mbers and continued, "You can discuss when to schedule the surgery. We’ll step out first."
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