Doctors at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases have just successfully operated on a 6-year-old boy with congenital atrial fistula in both ears. Especially, this defect appeared continuously in 3 generations of men in the same family.
Patient N.V, 6 years old, residing in Lao Cai, was admitted to the hospital in a state of congenital atrial fistula in the anterior area of both ears. Through family history exploitation, doctors recorded that from grandfather, father to sons in the family all had similar deformities and had had surgery to remove the fistula. Baby V is the 4th member identified to have the disease.
According to the family, the two openings in front of the baby's ear regularly secrete white tofu residue, oozing disgusting discharge and causing itching and discomfort when blocked. Fearing the risk of re-inflammation and abscesses like the case of her 12-year-old brother, the family took the baby to the hospital for thorough surgery and treatment.
BSCKI Trinh Thuy Lien, specialist in Ear, Nose and Throat, Central Tropical Diseases Hospital, said that the team had dissected the entire leakage pathway on both sides of the ear, and at the same time removed a part of the corneal cartilage membrane at the base of the sinus and the cartilage near the base of the leakage pathway to minimize the risk of recurrence.
After more than an hour of surgery, the surgery was successful. One day after intervention, the patient was awake, vital signs were stable, no fever, the incision was dry and clean, less painful and no pain relievers needed.
According to doctors, atrial fistula is a benign congenital defect, formed due to the incomplete fusion of the ribs that make up the outer ear around the 6th week of pregnancy. The defect is usually manifested by a small hole in front of the earlobe, inside which is a epithelial lining system capable of secreting fluid.
Notably, atrial leakage is related to genetic factors in some cases. This malformation tends to be hereditary in terms of dominant characteristics on normal chromosomes but incomplete permeability, causing the disease to appear continuously or overlook some generations. In the case of baby V's family, malformations appear continuously in male members throughout 3 generations.
Experts warn that even if it is a benign birth defect, if not properly cleaned, fluid inside the leak can accumulate for a long time, leading to infection, pusification or ablation.
BSCKI Trinh Thuy Lien recommends that when the leak shows signs of foul-smelling discharge, swelling, heat, redness, pain or recurrent inflammation many times, families need to take children to specialized medical facilities for timely examination. If prolonged, the disease can cause complications such as cochlear cartilage inflammation, cartilage erosion, cochlear malformations, sinus vein inflammation, even facial paralysis. The most suitable time for radical surgery is when the lesion has passed the acute inflammatory stage.
