Pyloric stenosis

What is pyloric stenosis?

Pyloric stenosis is a narrowing where the stomach empties into the intestinal tract.

The muscle in that area (called the pylorus), which normally helps food pass from the stomach into the intestines, becomes thickened.

This makes the passageway from the stomach to the intestines so narrow that digested food cannot pass out of the stomach. This means the gastrointestinal tract becomes blocked.

The condition affects approximately 3 out of every 1000 babies born in the US and tends to develop between 2 weeks and 2 months of age.

The exact cause is not known. However, pyloric stenosis is more common in boys than girls, and especially firstborn boys. It is also tends to run in families and is more common in Caucasians than other races.

Babies born to mothers who recently took erythromycin or those young babies who have needed to take the same antibiotic seem more likely to develop this condition.

Treatment / What you should do

If you think your child may have pyloric stenosis, you must consult a doctor immediately.

Also, always check with a doctor if your child is showing any signs of dehydration as a result of vomiting.

The doctor will examine the child's stomach. Sometimes the doctor will be able to feel the thickened pylorus; it will enlarge to the size of an olive.

When pyloric stenosis is suspected, the doctor will do further tests, such as blood tests, ultrasound and x-ray.

The x-ray examination will show a thickened pylorus muscle with a long and narrow opening. 

The treatment is surgical where the thickened muscle (pyloromyotomy) is split open. This cures the condition, and the child will be able to feed within a few hours after the operation.

After no more than a few days at the hospital, most children can go home.

It is important that mothers who breastfeed pump their breast milk during the hospitalization, so that they do not stop making breast milk while the child is quickly recovering from surgery.